


A Little Trouble

by Ghoulboyboos



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Curses, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Pining, Shrinking, Slow Burn, Spells & Enchantments, Tiny people, a little bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-06-28 17:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 43,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15711606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghoulboyboos/pseuds/Ghoulboyboos
Summary: “What the fuck.” He whispers, frozen in fear. He looks at Shane.He has rarely seen Shane truly afraid. He has seen him scared by horror movies, but never with the honest fear he catches on Shane’s face right now-Until it smooths out.Shane stands up, a bit wobbling on the soft underground.“I don’t know. But we better ask for help before someone accidentally sits on us.”Ryan stares at him, open mouthed.“How can you stay so cool? Fuck- SHANE!”For the record, he is glad his voice doesn’t sound squeaky in the huge place – he wonders for a second why he thinks that, then he realizes that his brain is thinking “logically”. It’s unlikely everything but them grew to gigantic size. It makes more sense … that they shrank. Which of course also does not make sense at all.Shane cringes a bit.“Don’t yell at me, I didn’t do anything.”Ryan breathes in sharply.“You sure? Because you keep telling ghosts and demons to do all sort of shit to us and – Oh god. You finally did it. You got us cursed!”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by [this beautiful piece](http://crimsxnflxwerz.tumblr.com/post/177050672851) by crimsxnflxwers which immediately kicked off the whole idea of "Shane and Ryan get shrunken and have to deal with it" off for me. I hope you like it!

It begins on the return from the location. They are leaving Freetown State Forest and Shane yawns so hard his jaw cracks. Originally, they had planned to sleep over in the woods, but the weather had changed drastically, wind picking up to a speed where the park rangers loudly discouraged any campers who didn’t want to get mashed into the ground by a fallen tree from pitching a tent there. So they are headed for a motel nearby where the crew is staying and the second they leave the dirt road, Ryan feels a terrible fatigue settle in his bones. Shane yawns again.

 

“Urgh. I don’t know why but I’m suddenly… really tired.”

Ryan blinks a few times and rubs his eyes, making sure to return his hands to the wheel quickly.

“Yeah. I’m exhausted. What the fuck.”

Shane makes a humming noise.

“Maybe the ghosties stole our energy.”

A cold shiver runs down Ryan’s spine.

“Shut up, Shane.”

 

Freetown State Forest was creepy and Ryan isn’t exactly broken up that they don’t sleep there. So many sightings of ghosts are bad enough but there are also stories about murder and crime. Some talk of witches meeting there, others mention satanists. Either way, the whole forest is thrumming with a sense of _wrong_ that had given Ryan goosebumps the moment he entered the place. Shane, of course, had not even hesitated strutting through the woods – not that he watched Shane _strutting_ – and chatting about how pretty the place was. He had been more interested in occasional sightings of Bigfoots than the sightings of shapes and people appearing and vanishing and the spotting of glowing orbs at night. Ryan had simply clutched his flashlight and kept his ears open for reported screams, groans and laughter. Of all the options, laughter would have gotten him to shit his pants right there.

 

Shane had stayed unfazed. When Ryan heard laughter through the spirit box and caught the words “too late” he had started to shiver violently and Shane – that dick – had _laughed_ at him. Granted, he had actually tried to calm him down and Ryan _does_ appreciate it, despite everything he says. But it hadn’t helped. Ryan had been terrified. When his shoe got caught on a half buried branch in the ground he thought a couple of seconds, that something had grabbed his foot and he had freaked out a _lot_. In front of the camera and in front of Shane. To Shane’s credit he had not really laughed, merely breathed in a suspicious way before steadying Ryan by grabbing his shoulder.

 

“You okay?” Shane had looked genuinely concerned. Ryan didn’t have the pride to shove him away, so he had merely nodded. Shane had let him go and Ryan had stumbled a bit with the sudden support gone. All in all, an embarrassing display.

 

And now they were exhausted. Ryan is glad when they pull in the parking lot behind the Motel. He feels like he could sleep for years.

 

-

 

The fatigue doesn’t really fade. They doze on the plane back to L.A. and he spends half of the weekend in bed, feeling terrible. It somehow gets worse on Sunday. There is an ache in his bones and he thinks he might have caught a bug or something. He texts Shane who is apparently suffering just as much, so they decide to meet at Ryan’s place, watch a movie and suffer together. It’s not like they can catch whatever the other got if they are down with the same thing.

 

They are about fifteen minutes into the movie when Ryan falls asleep on Shane’s shoulder. They awake very early on Monday morning with stiff necks, but less tired. Ryan decides not to talk about how nice it had felt sleeping next to Shane. He rather chases Shane into the bathroom first so his friend can stop by his own apartment and grab a couple of clothes before going to work so it feels less like he is making Shane walk the walk of shame. The thought heats up his ears so he sticks his head in the fridge, pretending to look for the milk. He doesn’t pull back until the fridge beeps offended, turning off the active cooling.

 

-

 

They are close to their lunch break when the fatigue returns. Shane groans and rubs the back of his neck and Ryan turns to glance at him.

 

“You okay?”

Shane makes a face and kneads his own shoulder.

“I’m all stiff. My shoulders didn’t like me sleeping hunched over.”

Ryan rubs the back of his own neck. The ache in his muscles is back with vigor.

“Sorry, man.”

Shane smirks at him and Ryan can see the glint in his eye.

“It’s because you’re so short, Ryan. I had to bent myself so much to lean on your head and now my spine is all messed up.”

Ryan flushes and quickly glances around, making sure nobody heard Shane. He leans in and drops his voice to a hiss.

“Nobody forced you to stay.”

Shane’s smirk grows.

“You did. I couldn’t get up with you all draped over me.”

“I wasn’t all draped over you!”

“How would you know? You were asleep.”

Ryan swallows hard, fighting the flush in his face.

“Shut up, Shane.”

He pushes his chair back and gets up, determined to grab a coffee and not think about sleeping next to Shane or sleeping _on_ Shane or sleeping _with_ -STOP.

Before his train of thought can get any more detailed, he is hit by a sudden dizziness and Ryan quickly grabs his chair to steady himself.

 

“Jesus...” He rubs his head, then his eyes. Everything is swimming.

“Ryan? You okay?”

He feels Shane next to him. Body warmth and the feeling of someone towering over him. It’s weird that he can _sense_ Shane. But before he can think about it, Shane makes a noise like he’s about to wretch and Ryan looks up.

“Uh- I got dizzy, what about you?”

Shane makes a face.

“I don’t know. I feel… weak. I think I’m gonna lie down in the lounge for a couple of minutes.”

Ryan nods slowly.

“You know what? I might, too.”

 

They make it to the lounge without any troubles, but the second Ryan stretches out on the red sofa he feels the dizziness return and the room starts spinning. God, this sucks. He feels like he is going to throw up. From the groan Shane lets out as he settles on the ground in front of him, his friend isn’t faring much better. Shane puts his arms and head on the sofa next to Ryan’s head and Ryan wants to reach out and pet his hair but that would be weird and he doesn’t have the energy to tell Shane to get up and lie down properly, so he just closes his eyes and tries to rest.

 

-

 

He wakes up to the rough fabric of the couch chafing his cheek slightly. Someone is shaking him with a lot more force than he would consider necessary and Ryan is about to slap whoever it is away when he recognizes Shane’s frantic voice.

 

“Ryan please, _fucking_ , wake up! Something’s wrong.”

Ryan curses softly but he opens his eyes. He only sees red which isn’t what he wants right now, even though his head and his muscles hurt a lot less. The couch underneath him feels weird and too bouncy, as if there are no dips in between the cushions anymore and Ryan rolls on his back and sees Shane leaning over him. He’s wearing his glasses and his hair is a mess because he probably also fell asleep at work but Ryan can’t really make fun of him because he looks cute. Ryan doesn’t say that though.

 

“What… Shane? Sorry, what time is it?”

“I have no idea, my phone is at my desk, but- Ryan. Uh...”

“What is it? Did I drool or something? Did someone draw on my face?”

Ryan instinctively rubs a palm over his cheek and looks at it. No sign of wiped off marker.

Shane looks pale. Even paler than when they went to lie down.

“That’s not it, no...”

“What is it?”

Ryan sits up slowly and watches Shane settle back on his heels. Sitting on the red cushion Ryan has been lying on.

 

Wait…

 

Something about the image doesn’t work. The couch is big but not huge, and right now it looks like a mattress.

 

Ryan sits up more and looks around. He is sitting on what looks like a humongous version of the lounge sofas in the Buzzfeed offices. Shane is kneeling next to him on the cushion they had both dropped their heads on – or rather, on the XXL version of the cushion they had fallen asleep on. There is the usual background noise and murmur that is normal for the offices and Ryan looks around in confusion, trying to figure out how they got here, if someone had somehow managed to move them in their sleep and holy shit this was one hell of a prank.

 

But then he notices the coffee table next to three other equally big couches. And the water cooler that matches them in size. He crawls a bit closer to the edge of the cushion and stares at the huge carpet and the floor surrounding it. Even the pattern is bigger.

 

He looks up.

Ryan is sure he could faint now. He never considered himself much for fainting, all that his fear of ghosts and demons and hauntings does to him is rile him up, cause his heart to beat loud and fast, make him jump out of his skin.

 

But the sight in front of him could definitely make him faint.

 

Around them, the Buzzfeed offices day is going on as always. Except everything _and everyone in it_ is huge. Someone walks past the sofa and Ryan flinches at the sudden towering figure and the sound of loud, heavy footsteps.

“What the fuck.” He whispers, frozen in fear. He looks at Shane.

He has rarely seen Shane truly afraid. He has seen him scared by horror movies, but never with the honest fear he catches on Shane’s face right now-

 

Until it smooths out.

Shane stands up, a bit wobbly on the soft underground.

 

“I don’t know. But we better ask for help before someone accidentally sits on us.”

Ryan stares at him, open mouthed.

“How can you stay so cool? Fuck- SHANE!”

For the record, he is glad his voice doesn’t sound squeaky in the huge place – he wonders for a second why he thinks that, then he realizes that his brain is thinking “logically”. It’s unlikely everything but them grew to gigantic size. It makes more sense … that they shrank. Which of course also does not make sense _at all._

 

Shane cringes a bit.

“Don’t yell at me, I didn’t do anything.”

Ryan breathes in sharply.

“You sure? Because you keep telling ghosts and demons to do all sort of shit to us and – Oh god. You finally did it. You got us cursed!”

Shane stares at him in complete disbelief.

“Are you- are you serious right now? What the fuck are you talking about?”

Ryan gets up, stumbling on the cushions- no, cushion, singular.

“I’m talking about you telling the ghosts and demons and satanists in the forest to “fuck up your life”, those were your words!”

Shane throws his hands up.

“Seriously?! Ghosts and demons aren’t _real_! And even if they were, why would they make us _small_?!”

Ryan gapes. He can’t believe it.

“You- you’re still refusing to admit ghosts are real?”

Shane glares at him.

“Of course! This isn’t proof for ghosts! This could be a proof for witches or intelligent aliens with shrinking rays! But in all the years I heard you go on and on about all the bullshit ghosts do, you _never_ said _once_ :”

Shane puffs out his chest and holds up his hands and Ryan knows that a terrible impression of his Unsolved voice is coming but he bites his lip and doesn’t interrupt.

“ _As we all know: Ghosts and Demons are known to shrink people so they can drag them to hell quicker!”_

Shane’s impression is pretty good and it stings because Ryan wants Shane to like and even admire his theories and all he does is make fun of him. Even though they are in a fucked up situation.

“Can you ever be serious?! We have a serious problem here! And by the way, it could be a witch ghost!”

Shane snorts.

“It could be a _living_ witch, Ryan. I would rather believe that _your creation_ Pam, the Hot Dog witch cursed us than some undead ghost witch!”

Ryan gapes at him. Shane isn’t finished anyway:

“Also-” He drops his gaze. “If we fight like we normally do, you won’t freak out so much...”

Ryan closes his mouth with a click. He swallows.

 

“You’re fighting with me to distract me?”

Shane slowly brings up his shoulders into a shrug before dropping them.

“I… don’t want you to have a panic attack.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Ryan thinks about taking Shane’s hand but he can’t.

Shane leans in and for a terrifying moment Ryan thinks he’s gonna-

“I’m still taller than you, by the way.”

 

Ryan punches Shane in the side. Not hard, but enough to make him stumble and wheeze a little and Ryan can’t help it, he is also laughing.

“For fuck’s sake, Shane. God damn it.”

 

They are both giggling, not hearing the footsteps come closer until a shadow falls on them. Both flinch and whip around, ready to run in case someone is really going to sit down. But instead, they look up (far up) into the absolute stunned face of Steven Lim, framed by the ceiling lights which gives him a radiant halo with the bleached blonde hair. His mouth is open and he is staring down at Ryan and Shane, a cup of coffee in hand which shortly after, falls and drops on the carpet, pouring the contents everywhere.

 

Ryan is really glad they are not standing on the carpet. They might have drowned.

 

-

 

Steven’s solution to a problem he has never ever encountered is asking Andrew for help. Andrew gets HR and their bosses on the line. Nobody believes him on the phone but he is good at being a serious person so he manages to get everyone to come to the lounge. Ryan witnesses three screeches of panic, four “what the fuck”s and one actual fainting, but in the end, everyone is kind of crowded around Shane and him, staring and hawing and humming and he feels like an exhibit at the Zoo.

 

Shane carefully steps over to him – the ground is still way too soft – and a hand lands on Ryan’s shoulder. He struggles with himself, half wanting to lean into it and half wanting to shrug Shane off. He doesn’t do anything, just watches as Shane uprights himself.

 

“I know this situation is… well strange is not the right word. But it’s messed up and I’m really trying to think with realism and logic here-”

Of course. Ryan could groan because that’s so _Shane_. Always looking for the realistic and “serious” way out. But right now it might actually help so he keeps quiet. Shane continues.

“I don’t know _what_ happened, I really don’t. But whatever did happen, we might… be stuck like this. Forever.”

Ice cold weights settle in Ryan’s stomach. He hasn’t thought about it, but Shane is right. If they don’t return to their original size, if this is not a dream – Ryan has pinched himself enough by now – then a lot of things will change. They won’t be able to do videos anymore. No Unsolved. No Postmortem.

A lump forms in Ryan’s throat as he imagines the death of his baby. This wasn’t fair. He hadn’t been the one taunting the ghosts. At least… not this time.

If they stayed small, they could not return to their homes. They couldn’t even lift their keys right now. Also their families and friends would freak out. Fuck. Their whole lives were over.

And Shane’s serious thinking only adds to the problems:

“I might have read too many conspiracy theories but… I’m not sure the government wouldn’t grab us and get us to a bunch of scientists if they found out. I mean, I’m sure some spies would profit from shrinking but… whatever this is, I don’t-”

Ryan stops his silent panicking as he hears Shane whine softly.

“I don’t want to end up in some laboratory for the rest of my life, okay?”  
Ryan hugs him this time. Every single cell in his body screams that this isn’t a good idea, that people will see what he really feels, but he doesn’t care. Shane and him are the only ones who have been hit by this and they have to support each other through it. Even if he didn’t like Shane – and he does, God help him, he loves Shane so much – he would want to stick together now. Shane seems to think similarly, because his arms wrap around Ryan’s back and he hugs him tight.

Ryan can feel Shane’s lips against his ear and before he has time to freak out, he hears the soft whisper of Shane’s voice saying:

“I’m so sorry, Ryan.”

Ryan swallows and pushes everything away. Shane is as much affected right now as Ryan is. Shane, who is usually cool and collected is beating himself up and it’s not fair. Even if his taunting got something to curse them both, it wasn’t Shane’s fault. Shane didn’t believe in demons and ghosts and witches. Shane was “talking to air” as he put it, not actually telling malevolent things to hurt them. So even if his taunting had caused this, it wasn’t Shane’s fault. Ryan was man enough to admit that. He even was man enough to say it out loud, tell Shane and their little (well, huge, technically) audience that it wasn’t Shane’s fault and that he was ready to find a way out of this somehow. He wasn’t ready to give up Unsolved and their bosses and friends nod slowly. Shane nods as well, quick and desperate against Ryan’s neck.

 

Finally, Andrew speaks.

“I think… you guys should stay in the office for a bit. We can get you a spot to stay… it’s not like you are taking up much space right now.”

Someone elbows him into his side and he shrugs, unable to take back what he considers very true.

“We won’t tell anyone else?”

It’s a question directed at their bosses and HR and after some consideration, everyone decides to keep it secret for now. They seem scared, unsure and also stunned. Most of them seem to be Shaniacs, Ryan thinks, but he can’t be grim about it, not while Shane is still looking so distraught standing next to him.

 

“Okay.” Steven finally speaks. “So for now, we will keep this to ourselves. We might tell people directly involved with Unsolved in case something comes up. For now, you guys are still on hiatus which helps a bit. We … probably shouldn’t let your families know right now.”

Ryan swallows. He is close to his family and he is a little scared what his mother will think when he doesn’t call this Tuesday. Shane looks calmer, he is nodding, but Ryan suspects it’s not that easy for him either.

“We’ll just… pretend you guys are on vacation for now. You can do your research- uh. Maybe with help. Computers are a bit big for you right now?”

Ryan flushes, feeling even worse but Shane next to him is chuckling.

“Maybe when we jump on the keys together we can move them.”

The people around them are laughing a bit. It’s not exactly elated, but it’s a start.

 

Everyone looks lost for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, Shane laughs out loud. Ryan looks at him and is met with twinkling eyes and a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Ryan… we finally have a case we can solve. We can turn Unsolved into Solved!”

Ryan flushes a little at the sudden proximity but he hides it with a shake of his head and a loud burst of laughter.

“Okay. Sure, big guy. Let’s try to get behind this.”

Shane’s bright smile makes his stomach flip.

 

-

 

The general consensus seems to be:

  1.  Hide the current “condition” of the Ghoulboys from the rest of the office and the world, because it might end in exploitation or government kidnapping.
  2.  Everyone who knows will use some of their on the clock time to research curses, spells, alien theories and the lot.  
(Ryan is oddly touched by this, especially when Andrew and Steven promise that they will use their free time for research, too.)
  3. Find them a spot where nobody sees them or accidentally crushes them dear god they are about three inches tall now how do we prevent them from dying?!



 

Ryan could live with that but he is still panicking most of the time.

 

Strangely enough, as soon as the plan is made, Shane seems to chill out. He talks about all the fun things their new condition will bring, how they will be able to see things from a “new perspective” and yes, he really does phrase it that way. He laughs out loud as they are standing next to his half-finished iced tea on his desk and imagines loudly to take a bath in one of his favorite drinks. He finds a crumb in his keyboard, probably from a sandwich or something and bites into it. It’s about the size of a bread roll and it looks frankly disturbing. Ryan would have _never_ eaten that.

 

Speaking of food. Andrew brings them some. It’s a … balanced dish. Ryan stares at the small piece of aluminum foil. It’s big for them, of course, but it can’t be more than a corner the size of Andrew’s thumb. There is a single fried mushroom, cut into pieces, a slice of ham, some crumbled bread and a “dollop” of mayo that looks pretty scary from his new angle. Shane is laughing and starts making himself a sandwich, so Ryan joins him, not really sure what else he should be doing. It’s not like he can do work like this.

 

-

 

Their phones are still their normal size. Steven got them from their desks and Ryan is glad that his palm seems to have the same effect to the touchscreen as a fingertip does.

He texts some friends and his mother. Says he has been coming down with something – which isn’t a lie – and that he needs a couple of days to recover. He promises to be online and call and the lot afterwards. In the corner of his eyes, he can see Shane do the same.

 

Well _shit_.

 

How are they going to get out of this?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane is giggling.
> 
> “I just realized everything we watch is on ‘the big screen’ now.”
> 
> Ryan looks at him and he wants to be annoyed at the lame pun but every time Shane brings up something “positive” about their situation he just can’t get himself to shut it down.
> 
> Part of him knows that Shane must be stressed, too. But his friend doesn’t show it and Ryan is worried that if he asks, he’s just gonna break the relatively calm atmosphere. So he doesn’t.  
> Instead he laughs.
> 
> “It… kinda is, yeah. Can you imagine what popcorn is like, now?”
> 
> Shane’s eyes go wide and Ryan bursts into laughter as he sees the amazed expression.
> 
> “Oh my god, Ryan. This isn’t a curse, this is a blessing!”  
> Ryan wheezes.  
> “This definitely is a curse, absolutely. But I gotta say, giant popcorn… is at least something positive.”

It’s a lot harder than the “simple” list implies. Just getting them from the lounge to somewhere safe proves to be difficult, because neither Ryan nor Shane are much into the idea of being put into a box and carried around.

 

“What if you drop us?”

Steven rolls his eyes and looks down at Ryan with exasperation.

“I’m not going to drop you!”

“Someone might bump into you on your way to your desk! You don’t know.”

Steven’s nostrils flare and Ryan can see it well because from his perspective, he can look right up into them. The thought is not pleasant. Andrew is gone, he mentioned something about finding a confidant in their dilemma and Ryan really doesn’t want anyone else to know, but he knows they need the help.

 

Finally, Shane speaks up.

 

“What if you just put us in your pocket?”

He points up at Steven’s chest and indeed, the button down under his jacket has a breast pocket.

“We could hide in there. I mean it’s high up but nobody is gonna chest-bump you… right?”

He doesn’t sound a hundred percent sure, but Ryan likes the idea more than being put in a lunch box. They really have to leave before the usual people who hang out here in the afternoon come in.

 

Steven crouches down next to the sofa, chest as close to the seat as possible.

“Okay.” He says carefully. “Now don’t freak out, Ryan.”

He reaches over and Ryan tenses immediately, hoping to god that he’s not as easy to crush as a bug. Steven curls his fingers around him and it feels weird as fuck, because there is a lot of body heat coming from his hand and Ryan usually wouldn’t feel comfortable so close to a lot of naked flesh but- it’s a _hand_. People rarely don’t have their hands exposed.

 

He sits back, carefully, and Steven scoops him up and lifts him. It’s slow and not too wobbly and Ryan realizes the difference between hanging onto something that moves, like a roller coaster or a freefall tower and being actually held by a living breathing thing that moves on their own volition.

 

Steven dips his hand in his breast pocket, allowing Ryan to slide down and settle. It doesn’t completely hide him, he will have to duck down a bit, but the sensation isn’t too weird. Somewhere between standing in a sleeping bag and being in bed covered by a blanket. He watches as Steven picks Shane up and Shane holds onto his thumb, looking oddly amused by the whole thing. He drops next to Ryan and Ryan realizes how close they are pushed together. It’s weird.

 

“Hey. You here often?” Shane asks with a smug grin and Ryan rolls his eyes. He nearly yelps as Steven gets up, holding onto the front edge of the pocket as gravity shifts.

“Careful, Steven! Jesus Christ man you can’t just lean forward like that! We could fall out!”

“Shut up.” Steven hisses above them and then they’re moving.

It’s odd. Ryan can only tell that they are moving because he sees it and because he can feel Steven’s chest brush against the shirt behind him. He crouches down into the pocket as Steven pulls his jacket closed and leaves them in darkness.

 

Ryan tries to sit as good as he can and pulls up his knees. Shane is standing somewhere close to him, but Ryan still flinches as a hand lands on his shoulder.

 

“How are you holding up, little guy?”

Shane’s voice is soft and serious. Ryan huffs a bit.

“I mean I could freak out any second, but I guess it could be worse.”

He puts his head between his knees, which is a bit hard being squished in the pocket like that, but he manages. A couple of deep breaths help him to level. It takes him a moment to realize that Shane is softly petting his shoulder and arm, just rubbing slightly up and down as if to calm him. It helps, but it also spikes his nervousness, so he brushes Shane off.

“Sorry.” He can see the outline of Shane retreating.

“No it’s… I’m okay.” Ryan clears his throat. “What about you, man?”

He can hear Shane hum.

“I guess I’m just… kind of in shock. I don’t think I fully realized everything yet. I’m just glad they decided to help us hide. Because I meant it. I love The X-Files but I don’t want to _be_ a file somewhere while they keep me in a cylinder to monitor my body.”

Ryan can’t really fight him on that. While most of the stories of lizard people and Illuminati seem over the top even to him, he doubts that the world would just shrug off the news that two paranormal investigators got shrunken down to the height of three inches. They would end in some lab, probably. Shane was actually thinking pretty rationally.

 

“It’s okay, big guy. I’ll keep an eye out for you in case you freak out.”

“Same back at you, Ryan. We’re in this together, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Ghoulboys till the end?”

Steven’s jacket shifts and a bit of light illuminates Shane’s face. He is smiling carefully and has held out a hand towards Ryan. Ryan’s heart skips a beat. He takes the hand.

“Ghoulboys till the end.” He feels himself flush as Shane squeezes his hand and is glad as they are plunged into darkness again.

 

-

 

Buzzfeed has a bunch of ridiculous shit in prop closets, either from old videos or in preparation of new ones. Ryan isn’t sure what Andrew did, but apparently he wrote a mail to anyone he could think of asking for small things, doll-sized stuff, etc.

 

Ryan stands in a kitchen that is well stocked, clearly functional and… his size. He remembers the video, one with Keith and Rie, baking tiny cakes and Rie was also in the other video, where she and Andrew tried to cook tiny food. It’s been a while since he had seen it, however.

“Who even builds this?” He wonders out loud as he looks around.

“Miniature food, like cooking and baking is a trend… people love tiny things.”

Ryan is sure he can hear amusement in Andrew’s voice. He glares up.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Andrew just shrugs with a smug smile.

 

Meanwhile, Shane is going through the cupboards and drawers, occasionally laughing. He holds up a fork and while the proportions are a little off – the prongs are wider and thicker – it definitely looks functional and about his size.

 

“This is so… weird.” He says, but his eyes are shining.

Ryan feels some of the dread and terrible feeling seep away at Shane’s childish glee.

“You think there are mugs here? I could go for some coffee...”

Shane opens one of the overhead cupboards and produces two blue mugs. It’s such an odd sight, Ryan has to blink. The kitchen clearly looks like … a toy, even though it’s functional. It’s just _normal_ for both of them, which means that it looks kind of huge. Ryan is sure he can give himself whiplash thinking like that. Shane hands him one of the mugs. It’s plastic but it feels strange to the touch, solid.

 

Shane looks at his own mug, bemused.

“I think… a lot of stuff will feel more rough to us. Because our … cells are smaller now?”

“Uh.” Ryan frowns. “Not sure if that’s how it works. But … yeah everything is bigger so anything uneven is even more uneven, right? Does that make sense?”

Shane shrugs.

“Not much of this makes sense but I think that was fine.”

Ryan sighs.

“I really _do_ need coffee.”

 

They look around.

 

They’re in Ghoul HQ, because it feels most like “home”, and other people don’t use it. It’s not perfect, because all the little creepy things and images in the background that they have now look imposing and scary. Ryan can’t even look at the mannequin in the background which now looks like a fucking titan. So he just concentrates on “their space.”

The table has been cleaned by the Worth It crew and then they started to bring in stuff. The tiny kitchen was first and Ryan is still losing his shit about it, at least a little bit. The stove is powered by a tea candle which looks scary as shit because the wick is bigger than his hand and he thinks if they light it, they will basically cook on a campfire. The favorite thing is the table and two chairs, because they are pretty much exactly their size and he can pretend things are normal while sitting next to Shane, staring into their empty plastic cups.

 

“I can help you cooking, if you want. I did that before.”

Andrew comes into Ghoul HQ, a box in his hand. Ryan sighs with exhaustion.

“I don’t even cook when I’m normal sized, Andrew.”

“Well you could start now.”

Shane shakes his head next to Ryan, clearly not in the mood either.

 

“We can literally live off whatever you guys drop during lunch now, we don’t really need all of this.”

Andrew shrugs.

“I thought it might make you guys feel better.”

Shane looks at Ryan and Ryan shrugs slowly. It kind of does. It normalizes the space around them a little. Shane gives him a little smile before turning to Andrew.

“You know what? You’re right. Maybe I will try cooking here. Because… despite everything, this is kinda hilarious.”

 

The corner of Andrew’s mouth twitches.

“Sure is.”

He places the box in front of them. It’s relatively small in his hands but huge for them. He takes off the lid, turns it over and places it on the tabletop they are standing on. Then he plucks fabric out of the box, rolls it up and places it in the lid.

 

“What are you doing?” Ryan eyes the stuff suspiciously.

“I’m building you guys a bed. I figured, you don’t want to sleep in the lounge.”

Ryan’s face heats up. Oh no. He hadn’t even thought about sleeping.

 

Andrew’s intentions were clear. The lid was big, but it was just _one_ spot he was preparing. Sure, Ryan and Shane slept in the same bed on certain locations, but he was generally nervous sleeping close to Shane. What if he ended up “draped all over him” and embarrassed himself terribly? They were trapped in Ghoul HQ now, unable to leave, both physically – because the way to the outside was probably comparable to miles now – and also because they had nowhere to go.

 

So he sits and watches in horror as Andrew folds them a mattress, pulls a thin handkerchief over it as sheets and then produces another one as a blanket.

 

“I have no idea what to use as pillows but I got some cotton balls here...” He says as he drops them on the table. “It’s not perfect but at least you guys can sleep somewhere.”

 

Ryan still stares and is startled when Shane is speaking.

“We really appreciate all the help, man. We’d be lost without you right now.”

“It’s okay. I hope we can fix this… somehow.”

He’s frowning and Andrew is a reasonable guy so Ryan can imagine that this is putting him way out of his comfort zone.

 

Shane looks back at Ryan and gives him a small smile.

“I’m sure we can somehow, right?”

Ryan just nods.

 

He’s not sure at all.

 

-

 

Andrew brings them water and soda. Since they don’t have tiny bottles, he fills little containers and covers them with lids and Ryan quickly gets used to the whole scoop-from-a-barrell way of drinking he has seen in old pictures. It’s not as nice as drinking from a bottle or can, but it’s the least of his problems right now. They even get coffee, but it’s weird seeing Andrew use an eye dropper to fill their mugs, so Ryan calls quits after one mug. Dinner is, like lunch, leftovers. Two teaspoons of curry rice on their tiny kitchen plates and while they are sitting at the table and eating, Ryan can almost forget what happened. When he just looks at Shane and talks about the food and movies and other things, everything seems normal. But then he will look up and see the giant desk lamp next to them and his heart sinks.

 

Shane notices every time, because he will use those moments to crack a terrible joke or make a bad pun. He even tosses a piece of rice in the air – rice corns are like bread rolls now, very weird – and tries to catch it with his mouth, only to catapult it off of their table and then off of _their actual table_ so it lands somewhere on the floor. Shane clears his throat as Ryan is laughing and the horrible feeling is forgotten.

 

Shane seems smug afterwards and Ryan doesn’t address it. Instead, he wonders loud what the fuck he is going to do now, that he can’t watch Netflix or play basketball. He is musing about what kind of training he can do while small, because there aren’t exactly fitness studios in his current size. Shane interrupts him by getting up and taking their plates.

 

“Come on, let’s watch a movie.”

 

-

 

They sit on their bed in front of Shane’s phone, which they propped up on its stand with combined forces and Shane bought the new "IT" on some online subscription. Usually Ryan hates watching movies on his phone, but from their new perspective, the picture is pretty alright.

 

Shane is giggling.

“I just realized everything we watch is on ‘the big screen’ now.”

Ryan looks at him and he wants to be annoyed at the lame pun but every time Shane brings up something “positive” about their situation he just can’t get himself to shut it down.

Part of him knows that Shane must be stressed, too. But his friend doesn’t show it and Ryan is worried that if he asks, he’s just gonna break the relatively calm atmosphere. So he doesn’t.

Instead he laughs.

“It… kinda is, yeah. Can you imagine what popcorn is like, now?”

Shane’s eyes go wide and Ryan bursts into laughter as he sees the amazed expression.

“Oh my god, Ryan. This isn’t a curse, this is a blessing!”

Ryan wheezes.

“This definitely is a curse, absolutely. But I gotta say, giant popcorn… is at least something positive.”

Shane stumbles to his feet. It reminds Ryan when they woke up in the lounge and he tries not to think about it too much. He watches as Shane struts up to his phone and interrupts the movie.

 

“What are you doing?”

“I’m calling Steven. He can bring us some popcorn!”

Ryan snorts but doesn’t comment on it. Maybe, eating a popped kernel as big as his head will help him calm down. There was enough to fuss about in the morning.

 

-

 

He doesn’t sleep well. Ryan is used to nightmares, especially nightmares where the people he loves die or are in danger and it always leaves him exhausted and sleepless and broken in the morning. This night is worse. Because of their situation, he keeps tearing himself out of dreams of being crushed, being attacked by giant bugs, being eaten by a dog…

 

But the worst thing is that he constantly sees Shane die in similar fashion. He sees something simple fall, maybe a bottle of water and crush Shane to death. He sees Shane fall off the table and crumble on the ground. Sees him squeezed to death by hands without a body to go with.

 

After he wakes for the third time of the night, he curls up on his side, stares at Shane’s calm, sleeping face and tries to at least relax if he is not going to get any sleep. He tries to chase the images of the man in front of him dying from his head. He wants to bury his face in the cotton ball pillow and cry but it would wake Shane, so he just closes his eyes, concentrates on breathing evenly and hugs himself tightly, curling into a ball.

 

The next time he wakes up, he hasn’t dreamed at all. He feels calm and warm, curled up under the blanket and his head- is on Shane’s chest.

Ryan pushes himself up quickly, slightly panicked, but Shane is still fast asleep. Thank god.

 

Ryan realizes he not only had his head on Shane’s chest but has completely stretched out on his friend in his sleep. His arms are on Shane’s sides and their legs are slightly entangled. It would have been _terrible_ if Shane had woken up first and Ryan, red faced and mortified, crawls off of Shane as careful as he can and settles on his side again.

 

He is always the one hissing at Shane to stay on his side during investigation sleepovers. He would never hear the end of it if Shane found him sprawled on top of him. At least, he didn’t have morning wood which was only a small blessing. Ryan pulls the blanket over his head and hopes, that when he wakes up next, his face is back to normal.

-

 

The next morning, Steven brings them breakfast and Ryan can’t help it. Shane’s absolute glee about the giant pastry in front of him is infectious. Their glee holds about ten minutes until they realize they won’t manage to finish the monster and they lie on their backs, hold their stomachs and suffer for a while. Steven looks like a very disappointed parent and cleans up after them, muttering something about them being typical, no matter what size. Ryan wants to fight him on that but he’s too full. Next to him, Shane is giggling on a sugar high.

 

-

 

They find things to do.

 

The table is big, so Ryan goes for a jog and at least does some stretches, push-ups and sit-ups. He is so caught in his thing that he doesn’t catch Shane staring at him until he is almost done with his routine. Shane looks lost in thought, mouth slightly open and gaze fixed on him. Ryan feels suddenly self-conscious.

 

“What?!” He barks and Shane flinches, quickly looking away.

“Nothing. I was just thinking. How are you going to shower?”

 

So far, their personal hygiene had been held to a minimum. They had washed their hands and faces in a shot glass full of water, with a tiny shave of soap. Using the bathroom was a little tougher, because neither of them wanted to drown in the toilet. So they had used the sink in the Ghoul HQ, which they could even reach by themselves after Andrew put a plank over the gap between the sink and the table.

 

Ryan shrugs.

“I’m gonna try the tap and not let myself be crushed by water.”

Shane clears his throat.

“Fair enough. I better see that someone finds us a change of clothes, then.”

“Oh.” Ryan blinks. “Yeah, better that.”

 

He stares at his feet, realizing how _fucked_ they truly were. Sure, with a bit of help, they could _survive_ but would he ever be able to actually live like this? What would his family say? His friends? You couldn’t go to social gatherings if you were three inches tall. You couldn’t have a family like this. You couldn’t even go for a fucking Lakers game.

 

With a groan, he closes his eyes and puts his hands over his face. He had tried not to think about that but now he sees all the plans and dreams for his life crumble into nothingness. Not only was Unsolved over, his life was over and so was Shane’s. And it doesn’t matter to him anymore if Shane’s taunting got them into that mess or whatever. It wasn’t fair. This was torture and no king sized popcorn or stupid tiny kitchen could make it better.

 

He is about to just wallow in self pity when suddenly, he feels long arms wrap around his shoulder. Shane pulls him in till Ryan rests his forehead against his collar bone and Ryan only hesitates for a moment before he wraps his arms around Shane’s waist and returns the hug.

 

“Sorry. I just realized… so much is over. So many things I wanted to do-”

“Shh.” Shane puts a hand on his head and carefully pets his hair. “I know. But worrying doesn’t help, it just makes you hurt, Ryan.”

Ryan sighs. He knows Shane is right, but it’s hard getting his anxiety in check again.

“I’m with you, Ryan. Every tiny itty bitty step of the way, okay?”

Ryan snorts against Shane’s chest.

“That was terrible.”

“Made you laugh, though.”

“Hm.”

 

They stand like that for a while. The looming end of their normal lives doesn’t feel as daunting any more by the time Shane lets him go.

 

That afternoon, Andrew brings them a box with “gifts” from the Ladylike crew and his shit eating grin explains itself as they glance at a collection of _really fucking tacky_ clothes that probably come from Barbie and Ken dolls. Ryan nearly loses his mind as he goes through what for him now is scratchy, cheaply made pieces of garbage and he is about to freak out again when he hears Shane’s delighted coos and looks up. Shane pulls the ugliest possible Hawaii shirt over his head, an absolute abomination and he looks so cute and happy in it that Ryan can’t help but lose it.

 

Maybe, somehow, being not alone in this was going to be the one thing that keeps him sane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The referenced Buzzfeed videos are We Try Tiny Cooking and People Try Tiny Baking and they are hilarious.  
> and uh...
> 
> [Hawaii Ken](http://popculturezoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Hawaiian-Barbie-and-Ken.jpg) is a sight to... behold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The house is beautifully done. It’s and old one, big, vintage. One of the kind that can be split in half and opened like a book to give the kid playing with it access to all the rooms, but closed, it’s just a miniature house. It’s made from wood and the carpets and curtains are actual fabric, there are little light fixtures and in general, it looks pretty much like a house they could live in.
> 
> “What’s the catch?” Ryan asks immediately, eyes narrowed.  
> Andrew only smirks at Steven, who continues as if nothing is wrong.  
> “What do you mean? It’s a house that isn’t used right now.”  
> “Yes. But it’s Joanna’s purchase.”  
> Steven hems and haws for a moment but then finally gives in.  
> “Fine. It’s supposed to be haunted.”

More and more people seem to catch on that something is _wrong_.

 

Steven or Andrew will tell them about friends and colleagues asking where they are. For the moment, the official statement is that both of them are sick, having caught a bug on location which apparently mercifully spared the crew. TJ has asked if it was contagious, afraid he might pass it onto his wife and kid, but otherwise people hadn’t exactly been needling the Worth It guys for more information.

 

Still, Ryan is getting restless. If they never get their old size back, wouldn’t it be better if they let the people close to them know now? He doesn’t really want to lie, but also, the thought of everyone learning about their situation makes him queasy. He would never think that TJ or Devon or Mark or any of his close friends here would try to expose them or make profit off of their problem. But he can’t bet his life on them not letting something slip. And the wrong comment to the wrong person could end with them in a secret lab underground.

Maybe he is overreacting. But he feels he has earned the right to do so, being three inches tall and _fucking cursed_.

 

-

 

The nightmares don’t let up.

 

It’s not even what happens during the day. It’s actually relatively calm, almost funny with Shane and him trying out a set of small vehicles the guys brought them, everything from Hotwheels (which are pretty much just badly shaped skateboards) to Barbie cars (which are too big and sadly don’t work, of course). Fingerboards have _almost_ the right size and Ryan at least manages an Ollie, which gets him applause from Shane that doesn’t sound facetious in the least.

It feels weird, like they are children or animals that need to be entertained with new toys. Part of him wants to tell Steven and Andrew, cuss them out whenever one mentions that he is bringing in something new, but it doesn’t sound fair. He knows they are just trying to distract them, so he welcomes it with open arms. Anything that gets him from thinking about the end of _literally everything_ is welcome to him right now.

 

Still, Steven looks too smug when he pokes his head into Ghoul HQ.

“So how are you guys doing? Already missing Unsolved?”

 

Ryan frowns at that. Steven hasn’t brought up work so far, so he smells a trap.

“What are you on about?”

“Well. Remember Joanna?”

 

Ryan does. He doesn’t really hang with her in any way, but he has seen the video where she purchased haunted dolls and his reaction to it had been a strict _fuck no_ , but apparently, Steven thought he was hilarious.

“Apparently she bought a dollhouse not too long ago.”

Shane snorts helplessly. It doesn't sound very amused and Ryan can relate. The thought of both of them living in a Playmobil or Lego mansion sounds neither funny nor cool, it feels pretty sad to him. But then Steven shows them a picture on his phone.

 

The house is beautifully done. It’s and old one, big, vintage. One of the kind that can be split in half and opened like a book to give the kid playing with it access to all the rooms, but closed, it’s just a miniature house. It’s made from wood and the carpets and curtains are actual fabric, there are little light fixtures and in general, it looks pretty much like a house they could live in.

 

“What’s the catch?” Ryan asks immediately, eyes narrowed.

Andrew only smirks at Steven, who continues as if nothing is wrong.

“What do you mean? It’s a house that isn’t used right now.”

“Yes. But it’s _Joanna’s_ purchase.”

Steven hems and haws for a moment but then finally gives in.

“Fine. It’s _supposed to be_ haunted.”

 

“Fuck that noise! No thanks!” Ryan has already turned around half way when a hand on his arm stops him. It’s a hand, not a finger, so it can only be Shane and when Ryan turns, only to see that his friend’s eyes are shining.

“Ryan. Oh my god. Do you realize what that means?”

Ryan flushes with irritation. Of course Shane isn’t bothered by hauntings, he never is. But his glee is slightly insulting.

“What?” He snaps, out of patience by now. It doesn’t deter Shane in the slightest.

“We can still do Unsolved, man! We just have to switch to haunted _objects_.”

He is grinning so widely that Ryan doubts his co-hosts sanity.

 

“Yeah. Uh. So, Shane. How about we don’t?! I’m not sleeping in a murder dollhouse!”

“Nobody said _murder_ Ryan! Just spooks. We’ve been in worse places.”

 

Shane is still grinning widely and he clearly doesn’t want to back down.

 

“Why the fuck would you want to do this?!” Ryan huffs. “Dollhouses are creepy enough by themselves, we don’t need fucking _haunted_ ones!”

“Well.” Shane falters for a moment and he pulls his hand off of Ryan’s arm. “I was just… thinking.”

“About what?!” Ryan still can’t help but snap. But Shane flinches and something inside of Ryan stings at the sight. He swallows hard and feels his irritation drop.

“I was just thinking… it would almost be like… everything was still normal.”

 

Shane drops his gaze to his shuffling feet and Ryan is aware that Steven and Andrew are staring and looking down at them like a bunch of scientists would at rats running a maze. Ryan swallows hard and moves into Shane’s space, leaning closer to whisper.

“I’m sorry. You’re right. It… it might add some weird normality to all this insane bullshit.”

Shane looks up through his lashes and he still seems unsure, so Ryan puts a hand on his shoulder.

“I still hate the idea of sleeping in a haunted house, for the record. But at least we can always leave and just nap in the tissue box, I guess?”

Shane’s face slowly twitches into a smile.

“I wasn’t trying to freak you out, I just thought-”

“Yeah.” Ryan interrupts. “I know. I appreciate it.”

“Okay.”

 

They stare at each other for a long moment. Ryan notices movement of large bodies in his periphery and then realizes that Andrew and Steven are leaving. They shuffle around a little before turning and dodging through the door, as if trying to escape them. He wants to shout, stop them or call them back, but then the door slams and they’re alone.

 

He looks back at Shane and finds his friend staring at him, eyes wide and just a little bit terrified. Shane looks vulnerable in this light, or maybe it’s the situation, Ryan isn’t sure. All he is sure of is the feeling of Shane’s arm against his palm, the rough fabric of the doll clothes they are now wearing against his skin. He should say something, or back off, maybe make a joke, but nothing comes to him. All he can think of is Shane’s reassurances about how they will get through this together and Ryan realizes that he would much rather live in a haunted dollhouse with Shane than have to go through this alone. After all, Shane would be there, right? His co-host had always kept him at least a little grounded on location. Shane was amused or bored or chilled out, no matter where they went. Sure, it was ignorance and his beliefs that nothing could hurt them in there, but even if Ryan didn’t share his views, Shane’s presence was soothing. As it was right now.

 

Ryan feels the urge to pull Shane into a hug, but he doesn’t dare to move. They are still staring at each other and by now, one of them should have said something. But instead, they stand together, about half an arm’s length apart, just finding a little bit of support in the other one’s presence.

It’s strange. Ryan has never been the most tactile. He guesses that Shane is, but Shane is also careful and likes to be in the background and keeps his hands to himself when he thinks physical contact might not be wanted. Ryan knows he’s jumpy with that shit, but he has gotten better. Shane is always respectful of other people’s personal space – unless it riles Ryan up, which probably beats everything Shane focuses on – so he usually gives others space and doesn’t tower over them, weirdly. But when it’s initiated? Ryan has the feeling that Shane becomes a total cuddlebug. It’s a bit odd, but also kind of adorable.

 

He steps closer, allowing their personal bubbles to merge and then suddenly, he has an armful of Shane. Hugs have become more common within the last two days, but he finds himself appreciating them. It’s when either or both of them feel like falling apart, when they realize what their situation means in the long term, when they think of something they can’t enjoy anymore or whatever dream for their future is dying right now. The hugs aren’t magical. They don’t solve the problem. But they help lighten the weight on their shoulders. Both of them sharing the load of what has been put on them isn’t ideal, but it’s better than suffering alone.

 

Ryan rubs his hand over Shane’s back, hushing him softly and focusing on Shane’s shuddering breath.

“I know.” He says, without really knowing anything.

 

They stand like that for a while.

 

-

 

Steven and Andrew actually bring them the dollhouse and despite how much Ryan hates it, he is really impressed. Of course, from his new perspective he can see some tiny imperfections in the painting of the house, things that will not be visible to the (normal-sized) human eye, but at the same time, he gasps when he opens the door and it feels _almost_ just like opening a normal door to a normal, if haunted, house.

 

They stand in a corridor, a lamp above their heads – shade and bulb and all – is casting a soft light around them and despite knowing that the place is haunted, Ryan feels a little more grounded than before.

 

“Well.” Shane says, looking around. “Should we… like, explore? Or should we wait for tiny camera equipment?”

Ryan rolls his eyes.

“Let’s just check it out. If it really is haunted – and I sure hope it’s not – we can still ask them to swing it open and film everything.”

 

Shane laughs a little.

“Grab the really tiny cams for that, of course.”

 

Ryan can’t help it. He is laughing, too. Horror like this can only be balanced out with humor. Either that, or losing your mind. And Ryan is not ready to go there, yet.

 

Shane moves ahead, with Ryan following him. Something about the house having proper lighting – which is ridiculous, really, because this is a fucking _toy_ and the other places they go to are real, lived in space that often don’t have electricity – makes him chill. Just a tiny bit.

They shuffle into the living room and Shane toes at the carpet, apparently impressed. Ryan takes in the room. A fake fireplace with a tiny, flickering red lamp. An honest to god chandelier above their heads. Windows that let in actual light from the outside, the lamps in Ghoul HQ. Ryan takes in the fluffy carpet, the little wooden coffee table, two armchairs and a sofa. For a moment, he can imagine, everything is back to normal. Then he hears Shane wheeze. He looks over.

 

Shane is staring at the wall, taking in the wallpaper.

“Can you- can you imagine making a wallpaper just for tiny houses? Like, how do you describe that when someone asks what you’re doing for life?”

Ryan snorts.

“I mean, I guess you could- What do you call people who produce wallpaper anyway?”

“I have _no_ idea.”

  
They keep joking as they explore the rest of the house. There are six rooms in total. A kitchen, which is exactly their size, but much less usable than the one they have been shown before. A dining room with six chairs that have actual seat cushions. Ryan and Shane sit down and stare at each other across a laid out table.

 

“This is… actually a good chair. Comfortable.”

“Hm-hm.”

The awkwardness doesn’t fade. Eventually, they just move past it and go on.

 

The next one is a bathroom. Of course, there is no real water and the taps don’t work, but Shane glances into the bathtub anyway.

 

“You know, one could actually take a bath in this. You just need some help with filling it.”

Ryan snorts.

“I mean, at one point in history that was just how bath’s worked, right?”

“True. But I think I will stick to our tap showers, anyway.”

He turns to look at the toilet and sighs.

“Ryan?”

“Hm?”

“If you hear me get up at night, remind me that this thing does not work. Because I might be too sleepy and-”

“Ew! God, Shane, no!”

“I’m just saying!”

“Please _don’t_ say things like that? God. Sure. I’ll make sure you don’t take a dump in the fake toilet and destroy our only fitting living space.”

 

They are quiet for a moment. Ryan had said it in jest, but he knows that “only fitting living space” hits too close to home. He swallows.

 

“Shane. I’m-”

“Forget it. It’s fine.”

 

Shane touches his elbow.

 

“Come on, let’s check the rest of it.”

 

There are two bedrooms. A master bedroom with a king sized bed and a kids room with two singles. Shane stares at them, looks around and takes in the tiny toys someone made for doll children and chuckles.

 

“You know, we could each have our own, but- Uh.”

He sits down and tries to stretch out on one of the beds. His head bumps into the headboard and his knees dangle over the end.

“I mean. It’s perfectly sized for you, so maybe-”

“Shut up!”

Ryan laughs and smacks Shane in the side, causing the tall man to curl up and wheeze.

“I guess we can share the other one. Uh- Unless of course, you want- I mean I can sleep outside-”

“ _Ryan_.”

Shane gives him a look. He seems a bit exhausted.

“It’s _fine_. I don’t mind sharing. But if you want your space, sure, we can play rock-paper-scissors or something.”

“No.”

 

Ryan swallows. He remembers the nightmares, the time spending awake. He remembers the hours of restful sleep he must have gotten while hugging Shane to himself. Part of him wants to sleep outside to prevent _that_ from happening again. If he did that in his sleep, sometime during the night, it was dangerous. Shane would notice, eventually. But the thought of sleeping alone is worse. Then, all his nightmares will have free reign, feasting on the situation he is in, tiny and helpless and exposed.

 

He shakes his head.

“I’m fine if you’re fine.”

Shane nods.

“Alright.”

 

-

 

There is no real ghost hunting to be done. They have no flashlights, no spirit box, no recording gear. Ryan keeps his eyes and ears open for creaks or movement, but the house isn't actually old wood with heavy weights of stone around it, so there are no creaks or other sounds. He also assumes that just maybe, if this place is haunted it has more an effect on the _outside_ of the house, than the house itself. For now, they have simpler issues:

 

They really need to brush their teeth. Andrew brings them a soda cap full of warm water and a dollop of tooth paste. It’s huge and the smell is much more extreme this close up, but they manage. Ryan isn’t a fan of brushing his teeth with his finger, but it’s better than the alternative. And something about standing next to Shane, both of them wearing really fucking ridiculous but at least relatively soft doll-sized pajamas gives him a sense of normality. It’s like staying over unexpectedly at a friend’s house, borrowing some clothes and not having a toothbrush. Sorta. He can at least try and trick himself into believing it.

 

When they settle into the bed in the master bedroom, Ryan is surprised at how _soft_ the stuff is. There is no real mattress, of course, but the huge pillowy base is comfortable enough.

 

“I’m more one for hard mattresses,” Shane huffs next to him, as he sinks deep into the bed. Ryan huffs a laugh. “But this is okay, I guess.”

He gestures upward.

“I don’t think I ever slept under a canopy before.”

Ryan looks up at the pale blue silk that spreads over them.

“Me either. You’d think we would have seen that on location before.”

Shane shrugs.

“Clearly, the creator of this place has better taste than all the ghosts and ghoulies we met so far.”

“Did you just say we met ghosts?”

“Just take it and shut up, Bergara.”

Shane turns off the light. It’s a bit of a comical situation, with the switch being pretty big, but it’s easy enough to do.

 

Ryan settles into the sheets, wrenches his eyes shut and hopes, _prays_ for a restful sleep.

 

-

 

It’s fruitless.

 

He doesn’t know when he wakes up, but he feels like he hasn’t slept at all. The thought of the house being haunted apparently mixed with his situation, because in his dreams, the wall is pulled away, huge, yellow demon eyes stare down on him and a clawed, massive hand reaches in to grab him, rip him away-

 

Only to tear Shane out of the bed instead. He hears his friend scream, sees him try to grab onto something in the room-

 

And Ryan shoots up, breathing hard, heart hammering in his chest.

Something wells up in his throat, behind his eyes and he presses a hand to his mouth to try and calm down. _It’s not real. It was just a dream. Yes, you’re small, but you’re safe. You’re at Buzzfeed in Ghoul HQ in a_ _ **fucking haunted doll house what the fuck are you doing-**_

 

He is nearly hyperventilating when an arm comes to rest around his back, warm, solid. His size.

Part of him wants to jerk away, tell Shane that it’s nothing and go back to sleep, but when he looks, Shane’s eyes are still closed and he is breathing calmly, evenly. The arm tightens around Ryan and pulls him closer and before he can react, he is drawn to Shane’s chest.

 

His head settles down and he pulls his arm up so it isn’t crushed beneath him. Slowly, carefully, he wraps it around Shane’s middle and hears his friend sigh beneath him. Ryan’s ear is pressed against Shane’s chest and he hears the steady heartbeat.

 

It doesn’t sound different from any other heartbeat he ever listened to. Apparently, their bodies are fine with their size, not having to fight more or less than before. Ryan swallows.

 

He feels guilty, settling against Shane like that. Because even though Shane pulled him in, he isn’t awake. Maybe it’s his subconscious reaching out to someone losing it next to him. Maybe it’s because he keeps hugging Ryan whenever the situation freaks him out too much. Maybe it’s just to keep him from freaking out so Shane can _sleep_. But still, it feels wrong to snuggle up against him like this, while Shane is still fast asleep. Ryan wants to move, but the arm around his back is a solid weight and keeps him in place. Tearing himself away would definitely wake Shane up, so Ryan bites his bottom lip and stays where he is.

 

The worst part about is that it helps. He feels himself calm down, feels the reeling thoughts in his mind quiet a little. His eyes droop and he is still thinking about how he should probably move away so he doesn’t make things awkward in the morning when he yawns. He will move in a minute. Just. Another minute.

 

-

 

When he wakes up, he is alone in the middle of the bed. Ryan grunts and fights, trying to push his way out of the too-soft bedding and it takes him a moment till he is stumbling out of the master bedroom.

 

“Shane?!”

“I’m outside!”

 

Ryan crosses the hallway to the children’s room and sticks his head out of the window.

Shane waves up at him from the outside, standing next to a huge – well, normal sized – bag from a coffee shop.

 

“Steven brought us breakfast!”

 

He seems bright eyed, rested and not the least bit uncomfortable. Maybe Ryan rolled off of him in the night, sparing them the weirdness of sleeping in each other’s arms in a haunted dollhouse-

 

Ryan frowns.

“You know what? It’s probably shocking to you, but I don’t think this place is haunted!”

Shane laughs.

“I really hate that my phone is too big now, because I would love to record what you just said and post it to gram town!”

Ryan flips him off through the window and shuts the curtains for good measure. There is a smile on his face he can’t quite fight.

 

Sure. Everything still sucks. But at least, Shane is joking again, which means that Ryan has something to respond to without everything crashing down around him. They would eventually have to find a long term solution to things, but for now, he can be comfortable sitting next to Shane on their investigation table, chewing baked goods and talking about nothing in particular.

 

It’s comfortable.

 

It’s…

 

_Safe._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m really sorry, Ryan. I know you want a family. I feel… kind of guilty about destroying that-”
> 
> “Don’t you fucking dare, Shane!” Ryan turns quickly enough to cause the bauble to swing a tiny bit. He clings to Shane’s arm, half to support himself and half to keep him from looking away.
> 
> “You said it yourself! You talk to empty air, not to spirits or demons! Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault.”
> 
> Shane doesn’t look convinced.
> 
> “You’re just saying that to save our friendship, Ryan.”
> 
> Ryan freezes but Shane doesn’t seem to notice, because he continues:
> 
> “You can’t be mad at me even though I am literally to blame for a situation where we are the only ones that are stuck in this. It’s like I trapped you on a fucking island. But if you were mad at me, broke up our friendship, I would have caused you to be all alone in this. That’s why you let me get away with a lot of bullshit.”
> 
> “Shut up!” Ryan climbs deeper into the bottle and braces himself over Shane. “Shut up, Shane, God. Do you have any idea how scared I am that you’re going to be sick of me in a couple of years? Because you are stuck with me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For most of the time I spent writing this, I was listenig to "Sanctuary" by Welshly Arms, which kind of became a song that I connected to this verse. It probably shows in the second half ;D  
> Also this chapter finally has a scene that directly references the beautiful [fanart](http://crimsxnflxwerz.tumblr.com/image/177050672851) that inspired the fic.

They have almost finished their breakfast and Ryan realizes he is getting used to mornings without coffee. Maybe _that_ was why he slept better at night. He tries not to think about the other possibility why he sleeps better:

 

 _Shane_.

 

Shane who has pulled Ryan on his chest in his sleep as if it’s a familiar move. Ryan can’t remember ever waking up on Shane’s chest on location, but since they got shrunken, it had happened both nights. Did Shane pull Ryan on top of him the first night as well? Ryan can’t really think of a reason why, it’s not like Shane knew it would calm Ryan down. Hell, _Ryan_ didn’t even know the effect it would have on him. He brushes the crumbs of his breakfast off of his pants and tries to think. The night before they got … changed, he had fallen asleep on Shane’s shoulder. Maybe it had to do with the strange fatigue that had hit them after the woods. It could have been a side effect of whatever had hit them. So… maybe he was just still cursed. Maybe he somehow got cursed with bad sleep and because Shane was the only other cursed one it let up in his presence?

 

“ _Nobody forced you to stay.”_

“ _You did. I couldn’t get up with you all draped over me.”_

“ _I wasn’t all draped over you!”_

“ _How would you know? You were asleep.”_

 

Fuck.

 

He knows he’s grasping at straws. Because he doesn’t really want to face the obvious. Ryan had always thought that Shane was attractive and after his friend had announced that he was single again, Ryan had fought against the thoughts that kept invading his brain. Ideas about asking Shane out or living with him. Gently pushing their friendship towards something a little different. He had kept fighting these thoughts and never acted on any of them. If he hit on Shane and made things awkward, it could destroy what they had and Ryan doesn’t want to lose Shane as a friend. He’d rather stay the way they are. It’s what he knows, what he is comfortable with. And now, with their current states, not having Shane by his side would be the worst thing that could happen to him. It would feel dirty somehow, as if he is contemplating using their “quarantine” to lure Shane into something he wouldn’t go for otherwise. The fear is frustrating and Ryan knows he is probably too hard on himself, but the whole thing sucks and he has troubles keeping in his happy place.

 

“You look like hell, buddy.”

 

Shane’s soft voice pulls Ryan out of his thoughts. His best friend is sitting next to him, legs crossed underneath him and he looks so soft and ridiculous in the weird doll pajama that Ryan feels his face break into a smile.

 

“That’s better.”

Shane is smiling back at him and Ryan swallows as his heartbeat picks up. He has to shake everything off that he has been thinking about. Usually, he is good at hiding his crush, but right now, it’s hard.

“You’re weird.” He says, sounding too soft.

Shane snorts and gestures at the room around them.

“We’re both weird. We’re tiny and at Buzzfeed and nobody is even _filming_ it. Which is a shame if you think about it, because this shit would get us _views_.”

Ryan shakes his head, holding in a laugh.

“I don’t doubt that, but I think we’re gonna get ourselves in danger like that.”

“Sure.” Shane shrugs. “But, just for the sake of the idea: If we could be sure that nobody would like, kidnap us or experiment on us or sell us to a weird Zoo or whatever: What kind of video would you want to do first?”

Ryan humors him.

“I think I’d test finger trick games, like the fingerboards and all that kind of stuff.”

“Of course you would.”

“Hey, I have varied interests! What would you do?”

“Cook tiny food with Rie.”

Ryan wheezes.

“Are you serious? Do you even know how to cook?”

“Of course I do. I mean, granted, I don’t do it often because I don’t have time, but I do cook. Sometimes.”

“Huh.”

Ryan glances over to the tiny kitchen that’s still standing on one end of the table.

 

He thinks about it for a moment. It doesn’t sound too strange, so he decides to share his thoughts.

“You know, if we’re stuck like this, we could at least try and learn it, don’t you think?”

Shane’s eyes light up.

“Really?”

Ryan just shrugs.

“What else can we do? I mean I’ve been trying to find a solution for our situation but… what can we do from here? Google on our phones? I think the others have a much better chance at finding out what happened...”

Shane stares ahead of them and Ryan can see his throat bob as he swallows.

 

“Ryan… I don’t want to bring down the mood but… I’m not sure they will find it out.”

Ryan feels his face harden and says nothing.

“Not that I don’t trust in them. It’s just… It’s _so easy_ to find people online who will claim they have seen all sorts of shit. And you know that I don’t believe them. You… I believe _you_. Because I know you’re an intelligent guy, you’re hard working, you don’t lie to people…”

Ryan feels his hands fist in his pajama pants.

 _But I am lying to **you**._ He thinks. _I’m pretending I’m not into you._

“But actual help for actual supernatural occurrences? Nah. You might find a spell that … I don’t know, gives you energy or wards off spirits or whatever that kind of magic does. But this? This is something that doesn’t just _happen_. It’s not a coincidence that’s seen as bad luck. Just because you drop your sandwich on a Friday the 13 th doesn’t mean that it was because of the day. You just dropped your fucking sandwich. But … people don’t _shrink_ to the size of a finger. They just _don’t_.”

Shane buries his face in his hands and takes a deep, deep breath before dropping them.

“So. I think we should maybe, possibly think about what we are going to do in the long run. Because, sure, we don’t need much food or space now, but- Shit. We still need to _live_. And even though this happened while working for Buzzfeed, I doubt they will pay us some pension because of it. Imagine the legal troubles with that!”

Ryan can’t help it. He wheezes.

“It would look like fucking Bee-Movie. With us sitting on tiny chairs on the stand.”

Shane gasps and then he is wheezing, too, both of them stuttering out descriptions of them in tiny Ken suits with a lawyer looking serious while he has to defend two men who are shorter than the pen he is gesturing with and it ends with both Shane and Ryan laughing so hard they can’t breathe, slumped against each other.

 

Once their – probably hysterical – laughter has died down, Shane is wiping his eyes from the tears of laughter and Ryan rubs his hurting stomach.

“Okay.” He starts. “Okay. Enough of that. We will figure it out together, big guy. If we have to, we will move into a shoe box together and live there for the rest of our lives. We could get a pet. Maybe a bug or something.”

Shane giggles.

“We could name him Spike.”

“Why _Spike_ of all names?”

“I like Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Ryan snorts.

They look at each other, faces still flushed and slight grins on their faces. Ryan reaches out and wipes at the corner of Shane’s eye, where he can still see moisture shine. Shane blinks, but then smiles and brings up a hand to cradle Ryan’s.

“I’m glad you’re in this with me. And I mean that in the best possible way. I’m not glad you’re like this, but, well, if I have to be cursed, it’s a lot less terrible with your best bud.”

“Yeah.” Ryan breathes out. “I’m glad I’m not alone, too.”

“Ghoulboys till the end, always remember that, Ryan. Oh. Also: Now we’re really a package deal.”

Ryan blinks.

“Get it?” Shane giggles again. “Because we can live in a box?”

 

Ryan groans and rolls his eyes, pulling his hand away. He’s not sure if he imagined Shane squeezing it before letting him go, but imagination or not, the butterflies in his stomach are there.

 

He doesn’t know where it would have gone after that, if Steven hadn’t knocked on the door and poked his head in.

 

“Hey guys. So, uh, you might…” He frowns and makes a face as if he is aware how weird the sentence he is going to say is. “You might want to get dressed. It’s cleaning day and the team is going to hit this place soon and I figured we should move you somewhere safe from vacuums. Just to make sure.”

For a second, Ryan thinks back on all the movies he has seen where the main character is too small for their own good. A vacuum was always one of the most terrifying things to the protagonists.

He swallows hard. Who’d have thought that he would be scared of a cleaning product one day.

 

“Sure.” He says, feeling nervousness churn in his belly. “Let’s… not end up in a bin.”

Shane nods and Ryan feels reassured to see that he has gotten just a little pale.

“Yeah.” Shane says faintly. “Let’s go.”

 

They get dressed in their original outfits. Ryan had never washed something in a tub before, but it had worked out alright. Well, technically, he hadn’t used a tub but a teacup. Still.

 

It feels comforting to be back in his clothes. The doll outfits brought some variety, but they are also a constant reminder about their situation and Ryan is glad to be back in the flannel shirt the Ladylike crew picked out for him. He watches as the Worth It guys move the doll house and the other things in a big cardboard box and stash it in the back. Then, Andrew carefully scoops them up and puts them in the kangaroo pouch of his sweater. Ryan catches a glimpse of the outside as they pass through the offices. There aren’t a lot of people in, considering it’s Wednesday around noon, but maybe most people were just out to lunch. He feels his chest constrict as he sees his and Shane’s desks and going by the hand that settles on his shoulder, Shane has spotted them too. Ryan leans back and allows the side of the pocket shut like curtains as he turns to his friend. Shane’s jaw is tense, but he still manages a reassuring smile, patting Ryan on the back before awkwardly sliding into a sitting position at the bottom of the pouch.

 

Ryan chews his bottom lip. He would love to give back for all the reassurance Shane has given him, but he doesn’t know how. If Ryan were to think about ways to make their future more manageable, he would definitely end up getting caught in a spiral of panicking about all the things they will never be able to do again. He is too much of a worrier to have Shane’s back and it feels unfair, especially when he takes into account how he feels about his best friend.

 

He is being unfair, he thinks. Soaking up all the attention of the person he has a crush on and instead of helping him, he tends to mock Shane. Ryan takes a deep breath. He really wants to tell Shane, maybe tell him everything, but in the very least that he is here for him. All he has done so far is hugging Shane when the other freaked out, but he needs to step up his game a little, he decides.

 

Before he can start, however, Andrew stops and he can hear him above their heads.

“Alright, guys. Coast is clear, you can come out.”

Andrew shifts and Ryan and Shane struggle to their feet, clutching to the inside of the pocket. Andrew’s fingers hold it open at the side, his hip pressed against a desk so the Ghoulboys can climb out relatively easily. Shane chuckles as he stands up straight and pats down his jungle patterned pants.

 

“I gotta say, if you were an Uber, I’d give the Ilnyckyj-Express five stars. Very comfortable and jostle-free.”

Andrew snorts above them.

“Why, thank you. Good to know.”

Ryan smirks a bit at the conversation, but he is already looking around. He knows this place. It’s the set and desks of BuzzfeedViolet. It’s empty.

“So, the _Violet_ crew is busy in New York at the moment,” Andrew answers the unspoken question. “The cleaners were here yesterday, so you’re safe and we can take you back over there tomorrow. Sorry you only got one night in the house so far.”

Ryan shudders and makes a face.

“Oh no, that’s fine. I’m glad we don’t get any chance to figure out if it’s haunted just _yet.”_

Andrew laughs, but Shane crosses his arms and smirks at Ryan. Once Andrew has calmed down, Shane leans over conspiratorially and holds a hand next to his face, as if whispering to Andrew. Of course, he doesn’t whisper. The two of them have to use what they would consider their “outdoor voices” to be heard in a room of this size.

“Don’t let him fool you! Ryan said this morning he thinks it isn’t haunted!”

Ryan puts his hands on his hips and shakes his head at Shane, who just stands there, looking smug.

“You’re such a fucking tattletale, Madej. First you tell Father Thomas about the Ouija board and now this. Unbelievable.”

Shane laughs.

“Hey, just keeping you in line, Bergara.”

 

“Alright, alright, guys.” Andrew interrupts them. “I think you can sleep here.”

He points at the spot next to the monitor on the desk. A huge wad of fabric sits there and Ryan needs a moment to realize it’s a balled up scarf. He just nods. Something about the thing looks almost fun to make a bed out of.

“This is like the best combination of hammocks, beanbags and a tent.” Shane says, staring at the scarf with a hint of hysterical laughter. Ryan swallows. He wants to joke about it, too, but he can’t think of anything that would cheer Shane up.

 

“I’ll be back later with dinner.” Andrew says, checking his watch. “I gotta go now. If you need to use the bathroom, you can go through here.” He points at the hole in the wall where all the cables of the computer on the desk lead into.

“There’s a sink behind the cubicle wall.”

He pulls a small water bottle out of his pocket and leaves them with a thimble full of water. Ryan wants to know where the hell the guy found a thimble or if he bought it just for them. It looks like a huge pot next to them and Shane is laughing.

“Tell me the truth, Andrew. It feels a bit like feeding a pet, doesn’t it?”

 

Andrew makes a face before slipping back into a stoic expression.

“It does and it’s really not funny actually.”

Shane nods, understanding.

“Sorry, I guess everything is kind of funny to me now. Because otherwise I’d lose my fucking mind.”

Andrew nods.

“I get that. I’ll see if I can get you some… I don’t know, normality. We’ll see.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“Yeah.” Ryan chimes in, a little taken aback by Shane’s comment. “Thank you, Andrew.”

 

They look after him as he leaves and when they hear the click of the door being locked, Ryan carefully looks at Shane. Shane glances back a moment later, a slight, helpless smile on his face.

“So, wanna explore the set of _Violet_?”

 

-

 

They wander around the three desks that are pushed together and check out the small kitchenette behind the cubicle wall. The set is nice, there are some personal items strewn about. A bottle of hand lotion, a book or two, a tub of expensive looking lipstick…

 

Shane is the one who finds the fairy lights and Ryan is drawn over by the audible “awwwh” that comes from Shane. When Ryan glances around the computer screen that had blocked his view, he understands the sentiment.

 

Next to the final desk the furthest away from the window, someone has strung several differently shaped glass objects. Ryan sees a ball, a pear-shaped one,a teardrop… They look a bit like Christmas ornaments, except they are just made from see through glass. Most of the little shapes carry a small succulent, just big enough to fit through the round hole in each bulb. The pear shaped one is simply filled with what looks like a tiny, colorful quilt, but someone has taped a string of fairy lights to it. Ryan can see it wind up the string above the bauble while the other end is wrapped around the desk lamp they stand next to.

 

While Ryan is still staring, Shane has started to carefully reel in the pear bulb a bit until he can grab at the opening in the side. Ryan blinks.

 

“What the hell are you doing?”

Shane snorts.

“I wanna see if I can sit in it!”

Ryan winces.

“That sounds like… super dangerous to me, dude. What if the string breaks and you fall? You could be fucking crushed!”

Shane throws him a look as if Ryan is being ridiculous.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ryan!” _Well_.

Ryan is about to defend himself when Shane cuts him off.

“We barely weigh anything and these little plants also have some weight. The string looks like fucking rope from our perspective, so I’m gonna test if this is a nice place to sleep, what about you?”

Ryan sighs. Maybe he should go along. It seems to make Shane smile.

 

“Alright, big guy. But let me hold onto it, I think I’m a bit stronger.”

Shane chuckles.

“Not gonna argue with you on that.”

When Ryan grabs at the corners of the little “window”, Shane just stands next to him for a moment.

“By the way.” He starts carefully. Ryan looks at him with a questioning expression. He sees the corners of Shane’s mouth twitch. “Thanks for still calling me _big guy_ , Ryan. Even if it’s kind of not true anymore.”

Ryan can’t help it. He laughs a little.

“You’re still bigger than me, you said so yourself.”

Shane grins.

“Fair enough.”

 

And with that, he climbs through the window into the pear-shaped glass vase. Ryan half expects Shane to get stuck with his long legs, but Shane comfortably settles on his back on the bottom of the thing and he looks like he is relaxing before he leans over and reaches for Ryan’s wrist.

 

“Come on, Ryan. Your turn.”

Ryan scoffs, but doesn’t pull back.

“I don’t think there is enough space for both of us, Shane.”

“Oh come on, Ryan. We are fucking tiny, _we can make it work_.”

Ryan swallows. That sentence has become a big thing between them and he won’t pretend that Shane doesn’t know that. His friend looks at him with a reassuring smile and soft eyes and Ryan gives in, sick of pulling back and complaining.

 

If he can settle in a glass pear decorated with huge – well, huge for them – fairy lights, he should probably do it. It sounds like an experience. With a grunt, he pushes himself up on the window, only wobbling slightly when the pear swings a bit, before he sits down in the glass ornament. His butt lands on the quilt and he realizes it’s stuffed with cotton. It’s surprisingly comfortable.

Shane is lying on his back and grinning at him while Ryan leans just a tiny bit against his hip and kicks his legs. It’s not bad, he has to admit, even though looking down through the glass makes him a little nervous. Shane lets his eyes wander up and Ryan follows the gaze, looking at how the glass reflects the fairy lights around them. It looks almost magical, sitting under the glass dome with the soft, sparkling bulbs around them. In a way, it is due to magic, he muses.

 

He settles and kicks his legs some more and tries to relax, really hopes that he can.

 

“What’s going on in your head, Bergara?”

Ryan looks up. Shane is still lying on his back in the cotton nest, legs bent at the knee and settled against the glass wall. He is now focusing his attention on Ryan, but he is not grinning, nor is there any indication that he’s about to mock him.

Ryan sighs and looks at his feet.

“Earlier when we wanted to talk about the future we didn’t… really.”

Shane’s expression dims and he nods.

“Because it’s fucking terrifying.”

“Yeah. But… still. If we stay like this we won’t be able to do the show. Or get back to our homes. We will have to find someone to make us actual clothes because some of this stuff really doesn’t hold up.”

Shane hums in affirmation. Ryan feels a lump form in his throat.

“We will have to find a few trustworthy friends who can keep a secret. Maybe we have to pretend we… I don’t know. Died? Vanished?”

“If it wasn’t for the serious trauma we would cause our families, there would be something ironically funny about two guys who focus on unsolved cases in a show _named Unsolved_ vanish and are never heard off again.”

Ryan coughs to hide a chuckle.

“That’s worse than the detective who tried to finds a missing person and then went missing.”

Shane giggles and presses a hand to his mouth, nodding.

 

They smirk at each other for a moment, before Ryan grows serious again.

“We won’t be able to… you know. Have relationships. Or families. Like, there is no way I’m going to be a dad like _this,_ even if it was somehow possible.”

Shane gives him the slightest of smiles.

“Imagine, though. Your toddler could grab you in their little fist and just be like “Okay, dad, time to pay attention to me!” That would be terrifying!”

Ryan laughs, despite himself.

“I think there was some sequel to “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” where the baby became giant. It _was_ terrifying.”

They both giggle some more, but, again, it fades quickly. Ryan stares back down at his feet until Shane touches his arm. He looks up. His friend’s face carries a pained expression.

“I’m really sorry, Ryan. I know you want a family. I feel… kind of guilty about destroying that-”

“Don’t you fucking dare, Shane!” Ryan turns quickly enough to cause the bauble to swing a tiny bit. He clings to Shane’s arm, half to support himself and half to keep him from looking away.

“You said it yourself! You talk to empty air, not to spirits or demons! Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault.”

Shane doesn’t look convinced.

“You’re just saying that to save our friendship, Ryan.”

Ryan freezes but Shane doesn’t seem to notice, because he continues:

“You can’t be mad at me even though I am literally to blame for a situation where we are the only ones that are stuck in this. It’s like I trapped you on a fucking island. But if you were mad at me, broke up our friendship, I would have caused you to be all alone in this. That’s why you let me get away with a lot of bullshit.”

“Shut up!” Ryan climbs deeper into the bottle and braces himself over Shane. “Shut up, Shane, God. Do you have any idea how scared I am that you’re going to be sick of me in a couple of years? Because _you_ are stuck with _me_?”

Shane blinks up at him, expression incredulous.

“Ryan.” He says carefully. “All I do is push your buttons and try to get you riled up. How the fuck will you live with that for years while also dealing with us being like this and… everything else?”

Ryan sucks in a deep breath. He feels like this is the turning point, the now or never of his life.

 

“Because I care about you, Shane. I _like_ you. Very much so. Yeah we banter and fight and argue, but all that it does it push me to be better. I want to prove to you that ghosts exists. I want you to listen to the alien theories. I like your opinion on movies, whether I share them or not. Is it so weird to you that I like you? That I can live with… this shit because you’re here with me? Without you, I would have lost my shit on Monday already. I would have fallen off the couch and cracked my head and maybe nobody would have even noticed.”

 

He sees Shane’s face flush and becomes aware of how close they are, so Ryan at least backs off a little and sits back on his heels. Shane pushes himself up to look at him.

 

They stare at each other in silence until Shane closes his eyes and brings up a hand to wipe at his face.

“Sorry.” Ryan can hear him mutter. “I might have freaked out a bit too much.”

“It’s okay.” Ryan says softly. “I’m freaking out all the time and you keep me grounded. I… don’t want to guilt trip you with the thing about you keeping me sane. I just … want to be around you. If that’s okay with you.”

Shane smiles at him. His eyes are just a little bit reddened.

“Of course that’s okay with me. I keep telling you-”

“Ghoulboys till the end.” Ryan smirks at him.

“Yeah.” Shane’s voice is barely more than a breath.

 

Ryan swallows, unsure if he should move or climb out or hug Shane or-

Shane touches his elbow and carefully takes Ryan’s arm. Ryan moves in as he’s being pulled, for once not freezing and staying in the same spot. Shane pulls him in and wraps his arms around Ryan and Ryan sinks down to settle on his chest. Their legs can’t quite entangle, because of the curved ground, but Ryan pulls his up to settle them under where Shane’s are propped up. Shane runs a hand through his hair as Ryan lies his head down, ear pressing to Shane’s heart and he throws one of his arms over Shane and feels it dangling out of the small window. The hand in his hair runs down until it settles on the small of his back and Ryan feels Shane exhale slowly underneath him.

 

“Shane?” He whispers carefully.

“Yes, Ryan?”

“Did I roll on top of you when I had nightmares?”

It’s quiet for a moment. Ryan hears Shane’s heartbeat pick up a little.

“No.” Shane finally answers. “I woke up because you were tossing and turning. It wasn’t just any nightmare. I think… I think you were crying.”

Ryan swallows but doesn’t comment.

“I wanted to wake you up, so I shook you, but it didn’t work. Then I- I kind of panicked- So I pulled you into a hug and the moment your head was against my chest, you stopped. So I just… kind of held you.” Shane shudders and Ryan looks up to see that his eyes are squeezed shut. Ryan wants to say something, but his throat is so dry. Shane finally looks at him with a broken expression and says:

“I’m sorry. I know how creepy that sounds.” The hand on Ryan’s back twitches. “But it seemed to help. I didn’t mean to touch you without permission. I wanted to tell you but… I guess I was…”

“Scared.” Ryan finishes. “I get it. I was scared, too. But with you, I’m less scared.”

Shane stares at him.

“Me too. I mean, I’m also less scared when you’re here.”

“Look at us.” Ryan says with a sardonic smile. “We don’t need no big strong people to protect each other, we feel much better around other tiny people.”

Shane laughs and Ryan feels how the arm hugs him tight for just a moment.

“Oh no, size – in this case, actually does not matter.” Shane’s eyes twinkle. “If I was cursed alone, I would still feel better whenever you’re around. I definitely could not keep it from you.”

Ryan blinks, a soft “Oh” escaping him as he starts to smile.

“Dito, I guess.”

Shane smiles at him, looking a little less terrible.

“Thank you, Ryan. For the … speech, I guess. I needed that.”

“Any time.” Ryan mirrors the smile.

“For the record.” Shane rubs Ryan’s back slightly. “I still feel guilty when it comes to our situation. I just can’t help it!” He adds quickly when he sees Ryan’s glare. “But! That only means that I will promise to do any stupid, ridiculous and probably fake ritual the others find. If there is even a slight chance that I can undo this, I’ll do it.”

Ryan feels something in his chest flutter. It’s a feeling that suggests that if he pushed up on his arms and kissed Shane right now, Shane would probably be alright with that. But Ryan is scared, unwilling to use the situation for that. So the moment passes and they simply look at each other.

 

“Alright, Shane.” Ryan says finally. “I’ll let you do that. But promise me, that if we end up stuck like this forever, you will eventually stop beating yourself up about it. Because that won’t help shit.”

Shane laughs a bit, Ryan can feel the vibrations in his chest.

“Okay, Ryan. I promise.”

“Good.”

Ryan puts his head back on Shane’s chest and Shane reaches up to stroke his hair again.

 

By the time Andrew returns, they are fast asleep in their little sanctuary, surrounded by the warm fairy lights and wrapped in each other’s arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, after seconds of terror, Shane closes his mouth and swallows. Then he takes a deep breath.
> 
> “Was that… a cabin fever thing?”
> 
> Ryan almost laughs. Shane somehow gives him the perfect way to bow out. He can just say he was emotionally compromised by being close to someone he trusts after they talked about the whole “we will probably never find a partner like this” thing. Ryan could just say yes. Something like “I’m sorry, I did it because I was freaking out about never making out with a girl at a club again because I’m sure they won’t let me in the club like this.” But he doesn’t. He doesn’t say anything.
> 
> He shakes his head, however.

After they wake up and have an only _slightly_ awkward dinner, Shane seems more determined than ever.

“You know what.” He says as he wipes off his hands with a piece of a napkin, the rest of the taco that the guys dropped off forgotten. “We should learn how to live by ourselves a bit. Sure, we’ll need some help here and there. But if we find a good spot to put the dollhouse or live in a box or whatever, we should be able to take care of it and our food on our own, don't you think? I mean we can't go shopping, of course, but we could organize something that helps us move around, at least.”

Ryan sips soda from his cup. With dinner, Andrew had brought them part of their “tableware” from the mini kitchen. It feels somehow better than dunking his hand in a thimble full of water. It also feels oddly familiar already like he returned to something "normal" and the thought makes him queasy, so he concentrates on Shane's suggestion.

“I don’t really know what you mean… do you want to put zip lines around the office or…?”

Shane shrugs.

“Maybe. It’s a possibility at least. We could learn how to make clothes, eventually. Why just focus on cooking our own food? There is probably a bunch of projects we could start when it comes to … this.”

He makes a vague flailing gesture to their surroundings and then shrugs.

Ryan is inclined to agree, but some part of it sounds a little ridiculous. It takes him only a moment to realize, why.

 

“Hang on… are you imagining us to act like-”

He can already see Shane’s face split into a grin.

“Like the Borrowers, for example? Yes. I. Am!”

Ryan groans.

“Shane. That’s a movie. I know we love movies but… it’s a fucking _movie_.”

“So what?” Shane holds out his hands as if daring Ryan to keep arguing. “The writers of the movie put a lot of thought into what very small people would use in order to move around a house. Even unseen! And they make their own outfits, clearly. You said it yourself, doll clothes aren’t made to be comfortable. They aren’t even made to be worn by something that _moves_.”

Ryan sighs because Shane is right. On top of that, they were shorter than Barbie and Ken – which could be a hilarious statement if it wasn’t so terrifying – so _mainstream_ doll companies didn’t produce much that they could wear. He sighs and leans back on his hand.

 

They are sitting on the leather blotter in the middle of the desk on the _Violet_ set, the unwrapped taco next to them. It’s a bit of work to eat it, because the salad and beans are gigantic and Ryan had decided that as much as he liked kidney beans, he drew the line at biting into one that was as big as his torso. It just felt… _wrong_.

 

“Are you drifting off?” Shane says softly. He sounds amused, but there is a hint of worry.

“Kind of, yeah.” Ryan admits. “I guess I’m just thinking about… well, about how you’re right but it still feels ridiculous.”

Shane scoots closer till he sits next to Ryan. Their shoulders touch and the familiar warmth floods through Ryan’s body.

 

“How about this. I’ll buy all movies and series where there is a tiny human with my phone. Then we pick the best ones and just have a themed movie night.”

Ryan looks over at him. Shane’s eyes are actually gleaming and he can’t help it, the enthusiasm is infectious.

 

“Alright.” He finally says. “You win. Let’s watch The Borrowers first.”

Shane actually cheers, throwing his arms up with a whoop before he loops them around Ryan’s shoulders and pulls him into a tight hug. Ryan is so stunned that he has wrapped his arms around Shane’s back and returned the hug before he can think about it.

He is still kind of dazed when Shane scrambles to his feet and jogs over to where Steven has left him his phone.

Ryan tears a piece off of the napkin and rubs his face, hoping that the flush will go away before soon.

 

-

 

He is in charge of twisting the scarf into something resembling a sofa while Shane shoves over the phone so they can have a proper movie set up. Ryan kind of regrets that everyone went home already, or else he would get Andrew or Steven to make them some popcorn. Even though they were sort of watching the movies for “research” purposes, movie nights aren’t the same to him without snacks.

 

“Oh and also: Surprise!” Shane calls out and Ryan looks up.

Shane rolls a single Oreo towards him and for a moment, Ryan takes a terrified step back. Luckily, the cookie wavers and falls over in front of the “nest” Ryan made, with Shane standing behind it, hands on his hips and proud.

“I organized snacks! Well… one snack. One big one.”

“Jesus.”

Ryan crouches down and looks at the cream filling. It’s big enough for him to just punch his fist into it, which would probably look and feel weird, so he doesn’t. Still, the sight _and smell_ of the thing is overwhelming. He looks up at Shane and grins.

“I think I love you, big guy.”

It came out as a joke, but the truth behind it makes him flush a little. Surprisingly, Shane falters and a blush spreads over his cheeks and the back of his neck. He coughs and turns back to his phone.

“Anyway!” His voice seems to tremble a little and Ryan is frozen in his spot, staring at the reddened skin of the back of Shane’s neck, trying to explain the situation but sort of failing. He snaps out of it when Shane picks the movie and the intro sequence starts to play.

 

Both of them scramble into the bunched up scarf and they quickly forget about the awkwardness of the situation because they keep sinking into the fabric or losing their balance. It finally ends with them half-sitting, half-lying against the bunched up scarf and they only sometimes lean forward to break a piece out of the Oreo. Scooping up the filling is surprisingly hard work.

 

“I never realized how tough this stuff actually is,” Ryan wheezes as he tries to scrape something off with the crumb in his hand. Shane only makes an affirmative noise, mouth already stuffed.

 

It’s a nice evening. Despite the possible threats the movies present to them – Cats, dogs, rain, _vacuums_ , _people_ , _INSECTS AND SPIDERS OH GOD –_ Ryan realizes that it’s a lot of fun watching them with Shane, especially from their new perspective. They don’t have anything to take notes with, but they don’t need it, because every time they spot a clever solution to something they might have worried about before, one of them will smack the other repeatedly against the shoulder out of excitement and they will start to talk about how they can make that happen for them.

 

“So, we need a shitton of dental floss,” Shane is about to start a new list but Ryan interrupts him.

“If anything, you need to work out first, big guy. These little circus artists do flips and climb ropes and all that stuff. I don’t think you could pull that off.” Ryan grins at him as Shane sticks out his tongue. “Well, _yet.”_ He adds, not wanting to be mean.

“I could get there.” Shane says, pouting. He thinks for a moment. “Okay maybe not that flip over the sink but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible.”

“Maybe.” Ryan teases, waggling his eyebrows. “Maybe not. You will have to find that out.”

Shane shakes his head and mutters something about Ryan being a son of a- _not very nice lady_ and Ryan is laughing because Shane can barely finish the insult before he cracks again.

 

They agree that the birthday candles are not only a good idea, they also look pretty fucking cute. However, they are both ready to settle for electric tea candles for fire hazard reasons.

“Paper clips seem to be pretty useful. And needles.”

“Paper clips, I agree.” Ryan crosses his arms. “Needles, probably … really dangerous. Never a good thing.”

Shane looks over at him, grinning.

“You never liked needles.”

Ryan is ready to defend himself on that because _who in their right fucking mind actually likes them_ but they are kind of squished together now with the makeshift sofa slowly giving out under them over the course of the evening and Shane looks really damn cute when he smiles and Ryan is sure he can see every single one of the man’s eyelashes. So, without remembering what the argument was about, he just kind of … drops out of his right mind for a second. One moment Shane is giggling as Ryan kind of shoves him and the next moment, Ryan’s hand slips from his shoulder to loop an arm around Shane’s neck.

 

And then he kisses him.

 

It’s short and chaste, just a quick press of his lips to Shane’s and the warm tingle he feels the moment they connect is instantly squashed by the cold, terrible dread that hits him once he realizes what he’s doing. He shoots back, panicked and tries to scramble away, but their weird little scarf nest is really soft so he needs a few seconds to get up which gets him a perfect impression of Shane’s face as he racts to what just happened.

 

Shane looks stunned. His eyes are wide and his mouth still slightly open. He reaches up a hand to touch his lips while Ryan scrambles to his feet and Shane follows him with his eyes, apparently frozen in the spot.

 

Ryan stares at him and he wants to apologize or maybe brush it off or- Actually, he doesn’t want to do that. He knows he _has to_ do it, but he doesn’t _want_ _to_. The thing he really _wants to_ do is kiss Shane again, because it had been even nicer than he had dared to imagine, even if it was just for a moment.

So, instead of rambling or begging or laughing it off, he just stands there, teetering on the edge of a full blown panic attack as his heart hammers in his throat and his breath gets short and quick. Shane still hasn’t moved and it’s real torture. It feels like they have been staring at each other for years, which is probably not the case, but Ryan can’t get himself to check. He can only look at Shane.

 

Finally, after seconds of terror, Shane closes his mouth and swallows. Then he takes a deep breath.

“Was that… a cabin fever thing?”

Ryan almost laughs. Shane somehow gives him the perfect way to bow out. He can just say he was emotionally compromised by being close to someone he trusts after they talked about the whole “we will probably never find a partner like this” thing. Ryan could just say yes. Something like “I’m sorry, I did it because I was freaking out about never making out with a girl at a club again because I’m sure they won’t let me in the club like this.” But he doesn’t. He doesn’t say anything.

 

He shakes his head, however.

 

Shane sits up and then slowly stands. His movements are a bit more elegant than Ryan’s, but there really is no dignified way of standing up from a gigantic piece of balled up fabric. Once Shane stands, he moves to dust off his legs as if he sat on sand. He isn’t quite looking at Ryan. His eyes flicker to him here and there, but they mostly stay trained on the ground.

 

“Ryan.”

Ryan nearly jumps when Shane finally speaks.

“Yeah?” His voice is scratchy and he tries to swallow to get rid of the feeling. It doesn’t quite fade.

“Just… humor me here. Because I’m sort of freaking out. Did you or did you not just … kiss me?”

Ryan feels himself shrink a little. He starts twiddling his fingers like he’s a little kid that got caught doing something they shouldn’t have.

“I… I did do that. Yes.”

“Why?”

That question is the one Ryan was afraid of the most. Because the answer is easy but _saying_ the answer is the hardest thing in the world. He wants to shrug, brush it off. Say maybe “I wanted to know what it feels like.” But Shane is looking at him and he looks … raw.

Ryan can not find a better way to describe it. Shane looks scared and unsure and as if he’s in pain. But he also has a little flush to his cheeks, his eyes are fixed on Ryan’s face and they seem to be gleaming, just a little bit. And his hand has fisted in his shirt, right above his heart, as if he, too, is afraid of the answer.

 

Ryan shifts from one foot to the other. Then he takes a step closer to Shane and stops again. Shane bites his bottom lip, but then he also takes a step, shifting closer to Ryan. It takes them a while, but they slowly and carefully move into each other’s space again. One step after the other. When Ryan looks up into Shane’s face, he feels the panic dull a little.

 

“I wanted to kiss you for a while now.” He finally admits. “Definitely before all this happened. Like, a long time ago.” He breathes out. “But when … this happened to us, I was afraid of the same thing you were. It felt like I had trapped you in something with me and only me. Had I… I don’t know. Done it before it would have felt like I’m using the situation against it. It’s like these shitty movies where the dude tells the girl “If we were the last two people on earth, you’d fuck me.” And I really, really didn’t want to be that guy.

Shane makes a bit of a face and nods. “Yeah uh… I also don’t wanna be that girl.” He says dryly and Ryan shakes with laughter that doesn’t quite burst out of him.

“Shut up, Shane. I’m trying to say something here.”

Shane closes his mouth, but he doesn’t just stand there passively. He reaches out and places his hands on Ryan’s hips and Ryan feels like his soul leaves his body for a moment. When he returns and Shane’s hands are still on his sides, steadying him, he reaches out and puts his hands on Shane’s shoulders.

 

“Shane. I want you to know that you don’t have to do… anything. Okay? Not because you feel guilty or because we’re the only people our size. I was so afraid of pushing you into something or trapping you in something. And I was also afraid I could ruin what we have. I don’t want to lose you as my best friend, okay? So… if you have any doubt about wanting this, let us stay friends. I would like that much better than you doing something you feel … I don’t fucking know. _Obliged_ to, I guess.”

 

Shane nods slowly. Over the course of Ryan’s rambling, he has slowly started to smile.

“Well. Let me start this by saying that you don’t force me or trap me in anything. And … even though I feel _obliged_ to try any way to get us back to normal and I might feel like kissing you because I _like_ the thought: I certainly don’t feel like I have to kiss you just because I pissed off the wrong supernatural entity on location.”

 

Ryan almost wheezes. He feels a slight smile spread over his face and his cheeks feel warm when Shane steps close enough for their chests to brush together. He looks down at Ryan with a hint of wonder and the raw, pained Shane has been soothed and settled back under this happily surprised expression. It’s endearing and Ryan only chews on his bottom lip in contemplation for a moment before he tilts his head up and slowly, very slowly pushes up on his tiptoes. He keeps his eyes open so he can see the moment of realization in Shane’s eyes and then his stomach flips when these hazel eyes slide shut and Shane leans in and-

This time, the kiss lasts longer. Ryan moves his hands up and loops his arms around Shane’s neck. Shane’s hands run up his back and he’s pulled closer. He catches himself making a tiny whimper in his throat and as if in answer and the fingers tighten and dig a little into the skin on his back. Ryan gasps and Shane takes the opportunity to run his tongue over Ryan’s bottom lip and that is the time where Ryan’s brain clocks out of work and his entire focus zeroes in on kissing Shane. They cling to each other, still standing in the middle of the desk. Shane’s phone, which is paused in the middle of the British Borrower series, goes into sleep mode about the time Ryan fists a hand in Shane’s hair and when Shane kisses down his neck, Ryan gives up trying to hold back noises.

 

He half expects them to end up in bed – well, nest – together, letting out their desperation or finding some distraction by screwing each other in the not-mattress, but Shane eventually pulls back and presses a long, warm kiss on Ryan’s forehead, bringing his hands up to cradle his face.

 

“God.” Shane whispers against Ryan’s skin and Ryan leans back to look at him.

“Before you ask if I’m really sure about this,” Shane says with a thick voice, “I don’t think I have ever been more sure in my life. Well, maybe the day I decided that popcorn is the best thing in the whole world comes close… but otherwise, no.”

Ryan laughs, despite feeling very breathless.

“I can live with that. For the record, I’m also sure. About you and the popcorn. But I have been sure about wanting you for a while now…”

“Ryan… why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Shane presses their foreheads together and looks at him as if the answer is somewhere written on Ryan’s face. Ryan just smiles sadly.

“I was scared, what do you think? We’ve been friends for such a long time I couldn’t imagine _not_ being friends with you. Romance can get… iffy when it affects friendships. I didn’t want us to try it and then you realize you aren’t into it and we break up and our friendship is ruined forever.”

Shane sighs and cups Ryan’s cheek.

“Did you really think I’d stop being friends with you about this?” He looks like he is about to hold an hour long lecture about how that fear is bullshit.

Ryan thinks for a moment and then closes his eyes in defeat.

“No. But I was still scared. Rational or not, I decided it’s better if I don’t say anything.”

“God.” Shane murmurs and Ryan can feel his breath against his lips. “I’m sorry you went through that all on your own.”

“It’s okay.” Ryan says. “It sucked at the time, but it’s okay now.” Shane’s arms slip down to wrap around Ryan’s middle and Ryan puts his head on the other man’s shoulder.

 

They stand like that for a long while. Finally, Shane moves his head to whisper in Ryan’s ear.

“Wanna stop with the research for tonight and just… watch something nice?”

Ryan nods against his shoulder.

“Good. Me too. Come on, little guy.”

They slowly disentangle themselves and Shane takes Ryan’s hand as they walk back to their movie setup. While Ryan rearranges their seating, Shane searches through his phone. For a terrible, scary moment Ryan expects him to pick _Ghost_ , because it would be right up the alley of Shane’s humor. But the soft expression on Shane’s face soothes his worries.

 

Ryan sits down and Shane joins him after starting the movie. He sits down right next to Ryan and wraps an arm around him right away and Ryan sighs and settles against Shane, allowing himself to just relax and enjoy what he wanted to experience for so long. He glances at the phone and catches the opening sequence of Paddington 2 and as ridiculous it sounds, he feels like he could actually cry because he’s so touched.

Instead, he leans his head on Shane’s shoulder and hums encouragingly when Shane’s head leans on his. He also wraps an arm around Shane’s middle to hold onto him and feels Shane melt in his hold.

 

They eventually fall asleep again, phone dark and their nest safe and soft as they hold each other.

 

Ryan doesn’t have any bad dreams that night. Somehow, he gets a full night of undisturbed sleep.

 

-

 

He wakes up early, when the first rays of sunlight fall through the blinds of the office. Shane is still asleep, arm loosely wrapped around Ryan’s middle and the memory of the day before comes back with full force. Ryan sits up, feeling kind of overwhelmed.

 

 _So that happened,_ he thinks. He kissed Shane in a moment of weakness and then he confessed to him and somehow, the world didn’t end. Shane hadn’t been mad or apologetic and he hadn’t pitied Ryan. Instead he had kissed him. After enthusiastically explaining that he liked the thought and before adding that he was absolutely sure about what he’s doing. As if that wasn't enough already, he had held him in his arms and played his favorite movie. Of course, a tiny part of Ryan’s brain doesn’t want to believe in something good and suggests that maybe _Shane_ had been the one with the cabin fever. But just for once, Ryan allows himself to believe in a good thing happening. Sure, this week was probably the worst experience of his life, but maybe, just maybe one of the best moments in his life still found some space in it.

 

He carefully moves Shane’s arm and gets up, unable to resist the urge to lean in and kiss Shane’s forehead before he does. Shane snuffles in his sleep and the corner of his mouth pulls up a little and Ryan stares for a moment, still stunned. When he finally manages to tear his gaze away from Shane, he jogs towards the cubicle wall to reach the sink so he can take a leak. He catches a drop of water from the tap to wash his hands and pats his cool hands against his cheeks. If he had been at home and his normal size, he would probably make breakfast now or at least make some coffee and cereal. But he isn’t even in Ghoul HQ, they had to move so they don’t accidentally get squashed by the cleaning crew. Ryan stands next to the soap dispenser and scratches his chin, thoughtfully. His beard is slowly growing in, because there are no electrical razors in his size and he would rather not use a razor blade that goes up to his hip when he props it up.

Maybe it was about time he and Shane put the plans they made into action. Ryan only has to search a little bit before he finds a pencil that is already at the end of its existence. Despite that, it’s still the length of his arm, so he has to wrangle it a bit on the note paper. It does work, however and he gets the hang of it after a while.

 

When he finally lowers the pencil and leans on it like he would on a walking stick, he hears rustling behind him. Shane emerges from the nest, blinking as he looks around. His hair is an adorable mess and Ryan feels affection bloom in his chest as Shane starts to rub his eyes and paws around the floor for his glasses. He puts them on and looks right at Ryan and pauses. Ryan can’t read his expression completely, but he would assume Shane is stunned in a similar way that Ryan was when he woke up.

Ryan smiles at him, hoping he looks relaxed and happy and he nearly falls over with relief when Shane smiles back widely. The tall man gets up and makes his way over to Ryan, moving as if he’s a bit stiff but his face looks a lot more awake.

 

“Good morning.” Ryan calls when Shane is close enough. Shane chuckles.

“Good morning. How are you?”

Ryan waits with his answer until Shane stands next to him. He doesn’t move to hug Ryan or kiss him but he stands close and Ryan can feel a bit of his body heat.

“I’m good,” he finally says.

Shane smiles down at him and Ryan realizes it’s a little different to what he’s used to. It’s… affectionate. Ryan suddenly wonders how long Shane had kept his own feelings to himself. Maybe he had once entertained the idea of him and Ryan together and then given up on it. Or maybe it had been subtle, unnoticed until distress brought them closer.

Ryan swallows as he realizes his heart aches for Shane even though all the scenarios are just his speculations, so he simply reaches out and gives Shane a one-armed hug. Shane hugs him back, briefly and they part so Ryan can gesture towards the notepad.

 

“I made a list! I thought we should probably start with all the plans eventually. So… I thought we could at least write it all down.”

Shane wraps an arm around Ryan again and scans the list. Ryan looks back at it. It’s very… basic, but he believes it’s a good start.

 

  1. Figure out a way to let our parents and closest friends know what happened and how to keep it between us. (Pro: Our parents won’t think we died. Contra: We can’t prevent something might slip outside.)
  2. Find a way to organize one of the following:  
a): Make the doll house a permanent fixture at Buzzfeed or another “safe” place so we can retreat somewhere.  
b): Create some form of living space somewhere. Contact friends and colleagues who know to see if someone is willing to rent(?) us some space. Find a replacement for the house. (A shoe box is fine _at the start_ )  
c): Organize a permanent living space at Buzzfeed, if possible. (Somewhere safe from the cleaning staff.)
  3. Consider if an organized safe space could be protective enough to allow us to actually keep working. (Not for Unsolved, but at least Buzzfeed). Find out if a safe and controlled “exposure” of our situation is possible. If not, organize a meeting to discuss the future of Unsolved.
  4. ~~Don’t become a mascot, please.~~
  5. ~~Make sure Shane and I aren’t separated in the process of-~~
  6. Write a shopping list for creating possible gear, i.e. Dental Floss, small electric lights, tape, paper clips, etc.
  7. Write a shopping list for whatever we need to make new clothes. (Maybe we should let someone in on the secret who knows how to sew? Might be helpful.)
  8. Don’t panic. It’s going to be okay.



 

Ryan sighs as he reaches the end of the list and sees point 8. underlined twice. He tries to take deep breaths and stay calm. After closing his eyes for a moment, he looks over at Shane who nods slowly as he reaches the end of the list.

“All very good points.” He says, eyebrows slightly raised. “I agree with you on the point that… “exposing” us, as dangerous as it is might be, is the best decision. We would probably have to set up some sort of contract with Buzzfeed to make sure we’re… you know, still treated as people. But I’m sure there are lawyers out there who have done weirder shit.”

With a snort, Ryan looks at him.

“Really? _Are_ you sure?”

“Well. Let’s say about as weird.” Shane amends with a smile. “Meanwhile we can ask the others if they found anything and if they haven't, we can go house hunting. Or… box hunting, I guess.” He glances over at Ryan in a way that makes Ryan a bit nervous.

“What?”

“I never thought that I would end up living with you. I certainly didn’t think about us living in a haunted doll house.”

“Yeah, dude, me either.” Ryan says dryly, but he knows the tips of his ears are heating up at the idea of _moving in with Shane_. Which he wouldn’t really do, because all of his shit at his flat is now the wrong size and he suddenly pulls a face.

“What’s wrong?”

Ryan sighs.

“Just realized my jersey and sneaker collections are pretty much useless to me, now.”

Shane huffs something close to a laugh, but he stops when Ryan glares at him. Instead he pats him on the back.

“I know it sucks, man. But maybe the Lakers can issue a special edition one for you. Now that their biggest fan became their tiniest fan.”

Ryan whirls around as Shane flees in a fit of giggles and he drops the pencil to chase after him. He has just tackled Shane and brought him to the ground to tickle the asshole until he begs for mercy when they hear the click of the door unlocking.

 

Steven steps in, a small paper bag in arm and he pauses as he spots them on the table. Ryan becomes acutely aware of the fact that he’s sitting astride on Shane and has shoved both hands under his shirt to tickle his sides. It probably doesn’t quite look like a tickle fight.

 

Shane drops his head back and looks at Steven upside down. Ryan can see the edge of a grin on his face from where he’s sitting.

“Steven, my man! Good morning! Is that breakfast, by any chance?”

 

-

 

Steven rolls an office chair over and sits down at the table while Ryan and Shane nurse their freshly filled coffee mugs.

Steven is _not_ looking at Ryan and Ryan is pretty sure that insisting for the third time that he and Shane were actually kind of fighting and not _doing what it might have looked like_ will also not make him believe it, so Ryan just shuts up and tears himself a piece off of the cinnamon pastry that Steven brought with him.

 

“So.” Shane says, mouth half full. “Anything new?”

Steven sips his own coffee and shrugs.

“There are a handful of different stories about people feeling faint or ill after leaving Freetown State Forest. People throwing up or sleeping unusually long, sure. But there isn’t a single story about anyone shrinking or… generally changing. There used to be a guy, not like an ordained priest or anything. More like a local weirdo, but he called himself an exorcist who could remove the bad influence of the forest." Steven looks a bit apologetically. "Sadly, he died about five years ago.”

Ryan chews and thoughtfully taps his fingers on his knee. He’s sitting cross legged on the table and tries to focus on something else than the embarrassing moment they just had.

“Okay.” He says, after swallowing. “Did the guy leave anything behind? Descriptions on how to ban that influence?”

Steven finally looks at Ryan.

“Yes and no. There are some reports on his work and a video or two, but nothing from him, no. Sadly he didn’t write “how to break curses” or something. But other people did.”

“Of course they did.” Shane sighs and Ryan almost chokes on his coffee. He and Shane hadn’t gotten into a fight about the supernatural since their first day and he had almost forgotten that Shane still held to his beliefs that people who talked about magic, curses and ghosts were usually either liars or touched in the head. He contemplates fighting Shane on it, but decides to do it later. It won’t help right now.”

“You promised to try every shitty ritual in the book.” He reminds Shane instead and the other man glances at him and smiles a little.

“I did. Doesn’t mean I have to pretend that I _like_ it. If we actually find a way to get us back to our normal size, I will definitely praise the creator of that spell. Hell, if they are still alive I’ll write them a thank you letter and openly admit that they are truly blessed with magical powers.”

Ryan huffs and rolls his eyes. He tries to be more positive about a possible revoking of whatever shrunk them, but it’s of course not easy. Ryan’s not delusional. He knows that there is a lot of literature out there about the supernatural and magic that is complete bullshit, only written to cash in on actual believers and practitioners. But there has to be a truthful core to it, right? If lost souls could carry and manipulate energy, then humans should theoretically be capable to do the same, right?

 

Actually, he doesn’t know. But he hopes that it might be possible. For the sake of his sanity.

 

Also, partially, because he would like to figure out the thing between Shane and him on familiar territory, if possible. Ryan would not have believed how much he could miss sitting in his own sofa, watching a shitty horror movie with Shane and shoveling fist fulls of popcorn into his mouth. He sighs and catches Shane’s eye.

Shane gives him a smile that is clearly meant to cheer him up, but Shane looks pretty unsure himself.

 

Finally, Ryan nods and looks at Steven.

“Okay. If you can, just… get a "best of curse breaking spells" together or something. I promise you, I will make it up to you. I really- _We_ really, really appreciate you guys doing all of this for us. Thank you. Andrew as well. I know this whole situation is… _insane_. But you two have been sort of this constant presence and it really helps. Also, your selection of food is dope but that wasn’t a surprise.”

Ryan chuckles at the last sentence. He feels a bit embarrassed, being so open and honest with Steven instead of settling into fake fights and banter, but Steven just nods and smiles a bit.

 

“It’s alright. I wish I could do more to help you guys, but as you said, it’s pretty messed up.”

He puts his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand.

“Anything I can bring you guys that helps passing the time? I was thinking of rubber balls, but I think you might end up breaking something so, no rubber balls for you.”

 

Ryan flips him off and he doesn’t have to look over to know that Shane mirrors him, because Steven glances between them and laughs.

“Alright, alright. I’ll think of something.”

He stands up and empties his coffee before he starts collecting all the stuff that belongs to Ryan and Shane. He drops it into his jacket pocket, shoves their phones into his jeans and then offers the other jacket pocket to the boys. Shane makes an elaborate “after you” gesture and Ryan shakes his head before climbing in.

 

-

 

Being back in Ghoul HQ only intensifies the feeling that they returned home. Ryan decides that while it's weird, it could be worse.

They sit in their “old bed”, the lid with the stacked fabric inside that Andrew made for them on the first day. Shane has started _Night at the Museum_ on his phone, “because it has tiny people representation” and they are munching on one of the strawberries that Steven brought them. Ryan chuckles a bit.

“Isn’t it weird that the saving grace of having to deal with all the bullshit of being this tiny is that food is huge? Barely anything is better being this small, except for the food.”

Shane scratches his nose in thought.

“True.” He finally says. “Food is a _huge_ bonus, though.”

“Oh yeah, absolutely.”

“Balances out nearly _all_ the bullshit.”

“Almost all of it, agreed.” Ryan is grinning widely.

“Also, I have the feeling that if this hadn’t happened, I couldn’t do this.”

 

Shane leans over and kisses him and Ryan feels his eyes slide shut and he leans into Shane, huffing softly as he tastes the strawberry on the other man’s tongue. Shane slips a hand in his hair, soft and without any product and Ryan grabs the front of Shane’s shirt. They grin at each other as they part and even though they miss Jedediah and Octavius dramatically and heroically piercing a tire, they don’t really mind.

 

-

 

“I miss the outside, if I’m honest.” Ryan mutters. He has moved to lie on his back with Shane on top of him while making out and they have settled into a comfortable cuddle, now. Shane hums and nuzzles against Ryan’s throat.

“Yeah, I get that. I’ll see if we can get some outside time. I hate to say “under supervision” but it’s probably better. I mean I would love to play the hero and protect you from squirrels and bugs, but let’s face it, if one of us can punch a creature and make it flee, it’s you.”

Ryan chuckles.

“I don’t really want to punch a squirrel if I’m honest, even though they can be terrible little monsters sometimes.”

Shane chuckles and Ryan shivers when he feels the breath on his throat. He rakes his fingers through Shane’s hair and glances down to take in his face.

“You know? I bet the stars look just the same, no matter how small you are.”

Shane hums and leans his head on Ryan’s chest.

“Probably, yeah. There won’t be a huge difference in perspective on that. Sounds actually pretty scary _and_ comforting at the same time.”

“Well…” Ryan starts but Shane already gets it because he’s laughing.

“Oh god, that’s our experience, isn’t it. Scary but comforting.”

“Yeah I was about to say that.” Ryan giggles and it turns into full laughter when his belly starts to shake with Shane’s laughter.

They have trouble calming down. It's different than their first loud and nearly endless laughter. Back then it was hysterics, panic turning into laughter out of necessity to get rid of whatever was stressing them out. Now, as relaxed as Ryan feels, he has to admit that the joke brought him actual glee. It's still not perfect, but it's... good.

 

He gasps for breath and rubs his eyes, having actually managed to laugh himself to tears and he blinks them open as he feels a hand on his cheek. Shane has moved and is now braced over him. Ryan feels himself smile and lean a little into the hand and Shane’s gaze softens.

“You alright?” Ryan asks. He isn’t entirely sure, because Shane looks almost a little helpless. But then Shane smiles again and nods.

“Actually, yeah. I just kind of thought… for the first time I thought that we can probably manage this. We can… live like this. It’s not ideal. But as long as you’re here, I’ll be fine.”

“Oh.”

 

For a couple of heartbeats, Ryan just stares up at him. He feels a lump in his throat but he is pretty sure that if he started to cry, he would send the wrong message. So instead, he puts his hand over Shane’s and allows a bright smile to show on his face as he looks up.

“Of course we can do this. Ghoulboys till the end. You and me.”

“Me and you.” Shane mutters and it almost sounds like a prayer.

Ryan reaches up and winds his arms around Shane’s neck to pull him into a kiss. It’s slow and deep and promising. He gasps as one of Shane’s hands slip under his shirt, but when Shane hesitates, he pulls him closer, clutches onto the other man’s back and then Shane moves again to touch him more and Ryan lets out an encouraging groan.

Shane moves away from him only once and that is to reach out and pull one of the blankets – well, handkerchiefs – over them. It’s not really Ryan’s style to shuffle around in the dark under the covers, but today he’s grateful for it. One awkward situation with Steven was enough and he doesn’t even want to think about what he could say if Andrew caught them _in flagrante_.

 

Then he stops thinking and focuses on… other things.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven glances at him. His lips are pressed together and he seems nervous.
> 
> “We did our final research. Andrew, you, Shane and I are going to try one of the rituals tonight.”  
> Ryan’s stomach drops.
> 
> “T-tonight?”
> 
> Shane has stepped close to him and Ryan feels their elbows brush. it’s innocent enough to be ignored, but he still feels reassured.
> 
> “Tonight.” Steven echoes. “We found a bunch of shit that is said to help and I don’t know how legit it is, but I guess we have to start somewhere. This ritual needs a full moon for some reason and tonight is full moon, so either we try that one now or we have to wait almost a month.”
> 
> Ryan nods. In a weird way, it makes sense.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're heading towards the finish line with this! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I was struggling with a certain part of this.  
> Also there is a smidge of Standrew if you like that.

When Ryan wakes up, he’s in the middle of the bed, sheets twisted around him and another blanket thrown over his body. He blinks a little and smiles when he realizes that the bed really starts to feel like a bed, not a box lid with tissues. Maybe it was also about time that he starts to think of the stuff as blankets, not handkerchiefs. It’s like his brain is finally starting to normalize things.

While he burrows himself into his pillow and sighs he takes in something else. He’s naked.

Ryan flushes. Right, that happened. _Wow._

 

He feels a bit giddy and really, who can blame him? After all the time he spent pining after Shane, he had never expected… this. The fact that kissing Shane had turned out well and showed him that Shane wants this as much as he does had already been more than enough. Yesterday, however, he had seen something in Shane’s face, something he can’t address yet because he feels like his heart can’t quite take it. What he can focus on however, is that Shane likes him and wants to be with him and clearly – and Ryan full on bluescreens for a moment and blinks rapidly as the thought hits him – _desires_ him in some way. He doesn’t quite know what to think, all Ryan knows is that he is happy. He could spend all day in bed, but there are things to do and Shane is already up. While Ryan is still buried in the bed, he starts to strain his ears for any heavy footsteps around. Just because nobody interrupted them yesterday doesn’t mean that the first thing in the morning has to be him flashing someone. Ryan cracks open an eye and looks around. No big people in sight. He sits up and pulls the blanket around himself, looking for Shane.

 

Shane is standing nearby, puttering around in the tiny kitchen and Ryan notices the smell of something cooking. It smells pretty good and he sits up and scoots out of bed, suppressing a yawn. Shane notices him as he gets up and smiles softly as Ryan wraps himself tighter in the blanket and wanders over. Shane is dressed in some of their “new” clothes, a pretty ridiculous looking set of polkadot pajama pants and a “t-shirt” from some sort of big-headed doll if the ridiculously large Velcro pad in the back of Shane’s neck is anything to go by.

 

“Good morning.” Ryan says softly as he reaches him. Shane smiles and wraps an arm around him to pull him closer and kiss his hair.

“Morning. I’m making eggs, want some?”

Ryan glances at the stove. Indeed, in one of the pans there is a yellow mass bubbling that looks very much like scrambled eggs. He blinks in confusion.

“How the fuck did you find small eggs?”

Shane laughs.

“I didn’t. Andrew was making some over at _Tasty_ and he stopped by to give me a pan full of the final mix. I wouldn’t even know how to salt them like this, you know.”

“Ah. Andrew was here?” Ryan flushes and scratches his nose. Shane seems to catch on.

“You were buried deep in bed, don’t worry. Uh, I thought you’d prefer it if I… let’s say: protected your modesty.”

“It is appreciated.” Ryan sighs and leans against him. “Breakfast sounds amazing. I’m just gonna wash up a bit and I guess dig around for some clothes.”

“Knock yourself out. You know I would _really_ love it if people made more underwear for dolls and didn’t just paint it on them.” He scratches his butt and Ryan knows what he’s getting at.

“Yeah, agreed. I mean… there’s going commando and then there’s going commando in plastic pants so…” He makes a face. “I’ll look for something soft. Fuck style!”

“Yeah!” Shane says with enthusiasm, gesturing with the spatula he’s holding. “Fuck style! You hear that Mattel? Your outfits suck!”

Ryan snorts and looks at him, feeling a swell of gratitude.

“Thanks for always finding a way to make things funny, Shane. It helps a lot.” He leans up and kisses Shane’s cheek. The other man seems stunned, smile softening.

“Of course…” He says, staring at Ryan for a moment and Ryan feels his heartbeat pick up speed. Then Shane jumps and turns around. “Shit, the eggs!” Ryan laughs as he scrambles them around a little frantically, trying to unstick them from the pan.

“I’m gonna go and let you cook in peace. I think I’m that bad of a cook it affects other people’s abilities…”

Shane giggles as he reaches for something that resembles a slightly large pan. He throws open the door underneath the stove and uses the thing to cover the tea light candle underneath until the flame smothers out.

“Maybe. The cooking curse of Ryan Bergara. Could be worse.”

Ryan rolls his eyes sarcastically.

“Yeah I mean… can’t imagine what it’s like to be cursed.”

Shane clears his throat, ears pink as he moves the eggs from the stove.

“I think we mentioned that even that could be worse.”

“True.” Ryan softens and watches Shane as he splits the eggs and plates them. “Be right back.”

 

-

 

They sit at their table over breakfast. Ryan found a pair of shorts that agrees with him and a shirt with a ridiculous “Hawaii-style surfer dude in front of a sunset” print on it. He wonders who the fuck designs these.

While they’re sitting and eating, he stretches out his foot and hooks it under Shane’s leg, gaining a coy glance in his direction. His heart jumps in his throat. It’s so strange to be finally able to just reach out and touch Shane whenever he wants to and Shane seems happy every time he does it, which makes Ryan feel even more excited.

Somehow, he feels like he should be grateful for the curse. Not everything around it, that still scares the shit out of him, but being in the situation with Shane had shown him how much he can trust the other guy and that Shane is comfortable relying on Ryan in return. Trust, attention, care… all of this had bubbled to the surface and reignited his crush in a way that he couldn’t have kept it to himself anymore. Ryan stares at the table, face warm and a dopey smile on his face.

 

Well, maybe it had been time he did something about it. This infatuation had tortured him for months and now he somehow sits at a breakfast table with Shane, after spending the night with him. Not just spending the night, Shane had… could Ryan think “made love to him”? It had certainly not felt like random screwing out of boredom, but he doesn’t want to get carried away. He carefully looks up. Shane is sitting next to him, occasionally glancing over at Ryan with a happy smile and Ryan feels his stomach fill with warmth, despite not having his morning coffee.

 

“Shane?” He finally starts, determined not to let his nerves get in the way.

Shane looks up from where he had been sleepily staring at his empty plate.

“How long…” Ryan blinks, unsure how to word it. There is so much he wants to ask and wants to share himself but Ryan also wants to be “brave”, or at least he wants to show Shane that he’s brave when it comes to each other. He clears his throat and Shane perks up a little. “For how long did you think of me as… well, not just a friend and co-host, I guess?”

Shane seems to sigh a little.

“I was kind of into you in the beginning. When we were both interns I flirted a bit with you because it was fun, but you didn’t seem into it so I eventually stopped.”

Ryan feels a bit of dread seize his body. If any guy had flirted in his early Buzzfeed time, Ryan might have reacted a little… “no homo”. Mostly because of the aftereffects of his college years, the fraternity and the constant “fear” of being checked out by a gay guy and then somehow being “found out” about not hating every part of it. Ryan wants to tell Shane, but he can’t get a word out, instead Shane continues.

“The real thing happened around… I’m not sure. I remember some of it, I think it was after the séance in the Bellaire house.” Shane smiles a little, face slowly taking on a thoughtful expression. “I found myself missing your hand in mine and I remember thinking something like _Huh, that’s weird_ , but the feeling stayed. I remember you barely sleeping and I just wanted you to relax…” Shane suddenly laughs. “The pizza probably helped.”

Ryan drops his head as he chuckles, trying to hide his wide grin. When he glances up, Shane is looking at him, now relaxed and again so strangely _soft_.

“Shane.” He finally starts. “That’s-, that’s months! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Shane shrugs, gaze dropping on the table.

“I didn’t know what to think of it. To be honest, I was a bit freaked out. So I wanted to give it some time. It could have been just me misinterpreting my feelings. Because, hell, of course I like you, of course I wanted to be around you a lot. We’re best friends, we have so much in common and with you, I laugh more than with anyone else and- well.”

Shane stops himself as if he’s said too much and Ryan feels so warm and happy because Shane’s words make his heartbeat pick up in speed. He’s usually not big on flattery, but he could listen to Shane for hours, just hearing the things the big guy likes about him.

“But the feeling didn’t fade and I realized it wasn’t _just_ friendship that I wanted.” Shane sighs and fiddles with the fabric of the weird shirt. “Of course, I was afraid I’d ruin our friendship and everything, so I just… moved on.” He laughs dryly at that. “Well no, I didn’t. But I pretended I had.”

Ryan reaches out and takes Shane’s hand, untangles it from the fabric and just holds it. Shane wiggles his fingers until they entwine with Ryan’s and for a moment, they just sit and hold onto one another. Finally, Ryan sighs.

“I wish I had known. I knew that I wanted _something_ more from you. But I was scared shitless. I thought we would never be the same if I told you, even if you rejected me nicely and didn’t act differently, I knew _I_ would have.” He looks up at Shane and feels his hand being squeezed. “I know the situation sucks but… I’m really, really happy that this is now in the open and I can, well, you know.” He brings up their joined hands and kisses Shane’s knuckles. Shane slowly starts to smile wider and Ryan’s heart lurches at the familiar crinkle of skin around Shane’s eyes.

“Me too.” Shane leans over the table and kisses Ryan’s cheek. “I think, even if I got the option to undo all this:” He gestures at their surroundings. “If someone told me I could go a week back and no shrinking would happen… I probably wouldn’t do it. Because then _this_ wouldn’t have happened.”

Ryan laughs a bit.

“You’re a big ol’ romantic, Shane. You could do it and then tell me everything. I would still be into you.”

Shane waves him off.

“That’s cheating, if I was sent a week back, I wouldn’t know you liked me.”

Ryan just shakes his head, but he feels happy and there are nothing but fond thoughts about Shane in his head right now.

 _Wow._ He muses. _I’m stupidly fucking smitten, huh._

He doesn’t really mind. Shane makes him happy and seems happy with him and being happy was tough in their situation, so he takes the opportunity with open arms.

 

They clean their plates and the kitchen before they decide to return to “their house”. Ryan really doubts the place is haunted, at least not more than they are and he feels no hint of ghost activity while he and Shane sit in the living room and tell each other obscure tales from their youth. Ryan wishes he could show Shane the stupid Christmas lipsynch video, because Shane apparently has one himself, but their phones are outside and they are snuggled together on the sofa. Neither of them really wants to move and when Shane nuzzles the side of Ryan’s face, he turns to capture Shane’s lips with his and they pass some time with some lazy making-out.

 

-

 

Eventually, they hear the door to Ghoul HQ open and Ryan jumps from the couch to stick his head out of the living room window.

Steven closes the door behind him and slowly looks around, searching, until he spots Ryan waving from his spot.

“Hey man, how is it going?”

Ryan waits till Steven has dragged a chair over and sits down. Shane pokes his head out of the door of their “home” and Ryan suddenly feels like they are living somewhere in the suburbs and pop out to talk to their neighbor. He looks up at Steven’s face and clears his throat.

“We’re… good, actually.” He wills himself not to flush. “I slept great.”

Steven doesn’t seem to catch up on anything and Ryan is extremely believed. Somehow, he had expected himself to have the “just had sex” aura and Steven would never let him live _that_ down.

 

“I got some supplies.” Steven says and digs in his backpack. He produces two boxes. One of them a shoe box not unlike the one Andrew brought in the first day. The other is a small metal tin.

Steven takes the lid off the shoe box when Shane walks up to him and Ryan closes the window and makes his way downstairs to check it out himself.

When he gets over to them, Shane has already climbed into the box and Ryan can hear him call out here and there. He sounds delighted.

“Ryan!” Shane’s head pops up from out of the box. “They found a doll that has our sizes!”

Ryan nearly bursts into laughter at the absurdity of the sentence, but the promise of comfortable clothes that sort of fit him is so nice that he skips the joke for now. Instead, he pushes himself up on the side of the box and swings a leg over to climb inside.

The clothes look a bit ridiculous and he assumes the dolls have some sort of goth style, going by the skulls and other dark stuff printed on some the shirts. But the material feels actually nice and he finds a pair of jeans that are probably going to fit him well. Sure, they aren’t as sturdy as real jeans, but for now it’s a good in-between solution.

Shane has already exchanged his pajama pants for long beige pants and he doesn’t look bad in them _at all._ Then he throws Ryan a black button down with short sleeves. The buttons don’t work, of course, there is a strip in the back to close it, but once he put it on he decides, the extra work fiddling with it is worth the look. He turns to Shane and laughs when he gets an eyebrow waggle in return.

 

While they are searching, Steven uncaps the other box and Ryan glances over the edge of the carton they are in.

“What’s that…?”

Steven glances at him. His lips are pressed together and he seems nervous.

“We did our final research. Andrew, you, Shane and I are going to try one of the rituals tonight.”

Ryan’s stomach drops.

“T-tonight?”

Shane has stepped close to him and Ryan feels their elbows brush. it’s innocent enough to be ignored, but he still feels reassured.

“Tonight.” Steven echoes. “We found a bunch of shit that is said to help and I don’t know how legit it is, but I guess we have to start somewhere. This ritual needs a full moon for some reason and tonight is full moon, so either we try that one now or we have to wait almost a month.”

Ryan nods. In a weird way, it makes sense.

“We need earth under the night sky… that’s like the actual wording, so we thought we’ll just drag you to the playground nearby. It’s not exactly… fancy but it’s under the sky and there is grass and dirt and all, so it should be what they ask for.”

He looks uncomfortable and Ryan suddenly remembers that Steven hates everything creepy and supernatural and magical.

“Thank you Steven.” Shane’s comment surprises even Ryan. “I know you two work really hard and this… as ridiculous as it is, might help us, who knows. So… thank you.”

Steven smiles a little.

“Hey. I just hope we can fix this.”

“Me too.” Ryan stares ahead. As happy as he is with the development between Shane and him, he wants to be able to get home to his flat, he wants his own clothes back, wants to play with the dogs at his parents house and go back to working on Unsolved. Shane reaches for his hand and squeezes it, hidden behind the “wall” of the box they are still standing in while Steven digs around in the tin.

 

“Here. You each take one of these.” He hands them each a crystal and to Shane’s credit, he only rolls his eyes a little before taking it. They are pretty small for Steven but still about the size of a soccer ball in Ryan’s hands as he weighs it carefully. It’s some sort of quartz, not quite see through and filled with cloudy white. Shane next to him throws it in the air for a moment and catches it again.

“I doubt it’s going to help but at least it’s pretty.” He says and Ryan rolls his eyes. “Do we have to have these now? Can’t we just hold them later?”

Steven sighs.

“Apparently you’re supposed to hold them for a while to uh, charge them with your essence.”

Ryan looks over at Shane and sees him press his lips together. He doesn’t say anything and Ryan is almost upset at that. Of course, Shane thinks it’s bullshit and he keeps it in because he has promised to go along with anything. But Ryan feels like he’s forcing Shane to do something against his nature.

 

“You okay?” He asks quietly while Steven is recapping the tin.

“Yeah.” Shane looks at him and shrugs. “I can’t help it, I think it’s dumb. But then again, what do I know about shrinking curses?”

Ryan starts to smile a little.

“I’d say we know more about it than anyone else. I get you don’t believe in it but let’s at least try it, okay?”

Shane smiles.

“Of course.”

 

Ryan smiles and looks back at Steven to find the man stare at them. His gaze is careful and calculating as he slowly let’s it wander from Shane to Ryan and lifts his eyebrows. Ryan flushes under the inspection and focuses his attention on the crystal instead of meeting Steven’s eyes.

 

“Did I miss a memo or…”

“Steven-” Ryan grits his teeth because he and Steven are friends, sure, but this _thing_ is new and maybe a little fragile, but then Shane comes to his aid.

“I promised Ryan to go along with everything that can undo this because I might or might not have caused this by telling the spirits of the forest to do whatever they want. I mean, I don’t think that it was ghosts or demons, I would guess it could have been aliens or maybe people who can do magic because even that sounds more plausible tho me than ghosts. But until proven otherwise, it’s a possible explanation for… this.” He gestures to himself and Ryan feels warmth in his stomach. It’s the first time Shane has openly admitted to someone else than Ryan, that there might be a supernatural explanation to their situation and even though he had been so undoubtedly _Shane_ about it, he is feeling better now. Maybe even _because_ he seems back to his old self.

Steven almost grins.

“If the Shaniacs could hear that…”

“Oh they will hear of it once I’m back to normal.” Ryan promises and Shane laughs softly, looking down on the crystal he is still holding.

“If, Ryan. As much as I want this to work, we don’t know if it does.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Ryan waves him off, unable to gain any negative feelings from this. Shane doesn’t mean it and he knows that. While he does really want to get back to normal, the possibility that they won’t isn’t as terrifying anymore.

 

They spend time going through their new clothes and adding stuff to the (functional!) wardrobe in the doll house. Steven goes to work, because it’s still Friday and he can’t hang around all day. It’s fine, because Shane and Ryan finish the Borrower series, crystals dutifully cradled in their laps even though Shane is sometimes drumming a rhythm on his. Afterwards, they sit at their little kitchen table and Ryan watches with morbid fascination how Shane is eating cooked peas: With both hands cradled around it like he is going to town on a head of cabbage.

“That’s vaguely terrifying.” He mutters as Shane looks at him with his cheeks stuffed and he gets a muffled laugh in return.

Afterwards, they sit together and Shane takes a couple of selfies of them around the house, as much as he can move his phone around. He makes sure it’s not uploaded to any cloud, since that could be a little weird to explain. Ryan smiles at a picture of them arm in arm in front of the doll houses front door like newlyweds after buying their first home together and when Shane sits down next to him to kiss his hair, Ryan leans closer and mutters something about it being good that they a taking some recorded evidence. Shane just laughs and dips his head to kiss him properly.

 

-

 

When afternoon comes, Andrew enters the Ghoul HQ to pick them up. Shane and Ryan settle in the hood of his sweater and Andrew pockets their crystals. During the “ride”, Ryan can’t contain his curiosity, so he sometimes takes the opportunity to very carefully peek out and check how the people they know are doing. Most things seem in order. He sees Shane’s and his desk abandoned, but nothing screams that people are hunkering down around it and waiting for something to happen. Then, Andrew gets stopped by someone, they hear a voice call Andrew’s name and quickly dive back in their hiding place. Andrew stops and someone starts talking to him. Despite the fabric around them which muffles the noises a lot, Ryan assumes it’s Quinta. Shane sits up next to him and seems to strain his ears. Ryan listens. He doesn’t catch everything, but he hears the question if Andrew has any news of Ryan and Shane, or if there is a reason to be worried because the gossip in the office is going a bit off the charts and someone has insinuated, that the bosses have reported the boys as missing. Andrew sounds uncomfortable as he tells Quinta he doesn’t know anything but that he doubts that it would be kept from them if it was serious.

 

“Maybe it’s just a big PR gag for Unsolved. You know? They covered a couple of cases that had people vanishing, I mean it would probably look really intriguing if they went missing for a bit. Or it’s just a big, secret photo shoot somewhere.”

 

Quinta seems placated, but not completely convinced. Ryan carefully glances after her as Andrew walks away and wishes he could just call out to her and tell her everything. They’re friends and he trusts Quinta, but outside in the office like this it’s too risky. Shane spots the look on his face and takes his hand when Ryan settles back in the hood.

 

-

 

When Andrew reaches the ratty little playground, it’s empty. Ryan can’t remember the last time he has seen a child play there, even the employees that bring their children to work let them rather play in one of the Buzzfeed offices than over here.

 

“Uh, do you guys want to… explore a bit?” Andrew’s voice is soft but Ryan can hear that he’s nervous, which is new and makes Ryan slightly worried. Andrew is so stoic, calm and firm as a rock and now he seems to be at the end of his rope. It’s hard to blame him, though.

Part of Ryan does want to explore but he also remembers watching movies where grasshoppers and spiders and worms are suddenly a little bit on the large side. Shane clearly has no problems because he climbs on Andrew’s shoulder and stands up.

“Hell yeah, give me a hand, will you?” He looks extremely smug with his pun, especially when Andrew starts to chuckle and holds up his palm.

“What about you, Ryan? Come on, we can check out dead grass and trash from extra close up!”

Despite the sarcastic remark, Shane looks excited and Ryan sighs, because he can’t say no to that face, so he takes Shane’s hand and climbs on Andrew’s shoulder before they step on the man’s palm together.

 

Andrew is extremely careful lowering them and Ryan almost complains about not being that delicate, but he knows he would probably act the same. Shane steps onto the ground and keeps holding onto Ryan even after they’re safely deposited on the ground.

 

Ryan looks down. Earth and dirt are still that… maybe a little more coarse than usual, but it’s not like standing in a pile of rubble. The few blades of grass that haven’t been stomped down or dug up by animals and he is equally amused and disturbed by how large they look in comparison to their size. Shane keeps holding his hand as they walk around, carefully avoiding the sandbox, because it looks less like a beach and more like a rock pile. Ryan makes a face at it because some tiny part in his brain had imagined living in a pretty sand castle and he’s not sure what cartoon he got the idea from. But then Shane is tugging him along and pointing out little pieces of trash here and there. Ryan has to admit that even _trash_ has a strange novelty when it’s ridiculously large – or rather: when you are ridiculously small. A bottle cap the size of a steering wheel, candy wrappers the size of picnic blankets and lots and lots of huge cigarette buds. Shane crinkles his nose whenever they pass one, because the smell is strong enough to be noticed and Ryan get it.

 

While they are walking around, Shane is talking more and more and Ryan starts to wonder if he’s nervous as well.

“You know, this could be a great video for the whole idea of “keep your planet clean”, but I doubt it would do anything to the people already don’t care. They’d just be like “Oh I’m fine as long as I’m not _that_ size.” and just go on as they used to.” Shane grumbles and kicks something that might have been a dropped skittle at some point and Ryan can’t take it anymore. He tugs on Shane’s hand and stops him, both in his step and his ramblings.

“Shane…” He looks up at his friend (boyfriend?) and swallows hard, preparing for an unpleasant topic. “Do you… not want to get… back?”

There are so many ways he could have phrased it and Ryan is sure most of them would have been better as well, but he feels like his question implies everything he is self-conscious about: The “curse”, whatever they were before, whatever they are now, last night, their casual touches… Ryan is afraid and he doesn’t know if he should be or if he’s being ridiculous. But then Shane sighs and mutters something that sounds like _oh Ryan_ before pulling him into a tight hug.

 

They have walked a quite a bit and Ryan is relatively sure that Andrew can’t see them from where he stands but he doesn’t care enough right now to check. He puts his arms around Shane’s waist and his head on his shoulder and closes his eyes. For a while, they just stand there and hold each other. Finally, Shane starts to speak.

 

“Of course I want to get my old size back.” Shane laughs for a moment. “As ridiculously huge as I might have been, it’d make a bunch of things easier. Like getting home or calling my family or, fuck I don’t know, checking my mail or buying a beer or… many things, I guess. But… get back? Everything returning to how it was before?”

He pulls away a little and Ryan looks up as he feels Shane’s eyes on him. They stare at each other for a moment and Shane’s relaxed smile widens a little.

“When we talked about going back in time and shit, I was scared that you wanted to undo everything that happened between us, because even if I knew how you felt, I probably wouldn’t be able to make a move. I just- I don’t even know. Of course I don’t want to stay this small, but-”

“Then why-” Ryan groans in frustration as he doesn’t find the words. “Why are you acting like this is somehow better? Why aren’t you doing absolutely everything to get your old size back?”

Shane blanches and steps back a little.

“I- I am! I thought you knew! I promised you I would go along with everything that we need to do-”

“I get that!” Ryan interrupts, suddenly getting louder. Shane takes another step back and avoids Ryan’s eyes. “But I still got this weird feeling that you somehow want to… I don’t know? Stay like this? It’s not like I would get _mad_ at you for this, I just want you to be _honest_. If for some reason you don’t want to try any of the rituals then you have to tell me and-”

Shane suddenly takes a step forward and grabs Ryan’s shoulders. It’s not aggressive or forceful, but Ryan freezes nonetheless.

“You- You don’t get it, Ryan. Fuck.” Shane drops his head and stares at the tips of his shoes. Ryan wants to ruffle his hair and pull him close but he senses that Shane is distraught and decides to wait.

“Ryan…” Shane finally meets his eyes again and he looks pained. “I can’t help thinking about… this. _Us._ I keep thinking that you were ready for a life with a wife and kids and then this happened and I swooped in, all selfish and ready to take over. I got you caught up in this somehow and don’t try to deny it, you thought it was my fault that we got tiny. Being stuck like this got us caught in some desperation and loneliness and I’m afraid that maybe I just somehow made you believe that you could never find someone this size and then we got… I don’t know, “involved” I guess. What if we get our old sizes back and you find out you don’t actually want me? You’ll leave and get back to your life as it was before and I-”

Ryan kisses him. He can’t think of all the words he needs to make Shane believe in himself, make him believe in _them_ , but he can at least interrupt those rambles and soothe the pained look on his face. At first, Shane is frozen but then he holds onto Ryan tighter, wraps his arms around his back and Ryan carefully grabs Shane’s face and deepens their kiss. Shane makes a little noise as Ryan pulls away, but his eyes are opening and they are wide and surprised.

 

Ryan huffs, half frustration, half affection.

“Shane. Fucking hell what is _wrong_ with you? I told you I liked you for a long time. I was scared because… well, for one, acting straight is a lot easier even at fucking Buzzfeed. On top of that, if I somehow messed up our friendship I would never forgive me. That’s why I kept my distance and didn’t realize what you were feeling and I’m so, so sorry if that caused you any pain. But I thought we talked about this? I’m not forced into anything with you. I know it’s scary, I know it’s weird but… no matter what happens from now on? If we’re our normal size or this small or maybe even smaller or giants? I will always want to share my life with you, Shane Madej.”

Ryan’s voice shakes a little but once he sees Shane’s eyes widen, he pushes up on his tiptoes and kisses him again and Shane makes a soft, desperate noise against Ryan’s lips and Ryan runs his hands through Shane’s hair and for a moment or two, everything is obvious and clear.

Ryan adores this guy, wants to be with him and Shane wants to be with Ryan in return and they will figure it out any way they have to. Ryan pulls back and smiles up at Shane and his …partner smiles back at him.

Shane runs a hand through Ryan’s hair and smiles softly and Ryan feels like he has done _something_ right at last.

“I’m sorry.” Shane sighs. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I don’t doubt you or anything it’s just… you could have anyone, probably even at that size and you somehow thought that I-”

Ryan almost shoves him but it becomes more of a soft shake when he holds onto Shane’s shoulders.

“I appreciate your brain, Shane.” Ryan says with an eye roll. “But god- _fucking_ -damn-it you need to chill. You’re so smart and yet you can be so fucking dumb sometimes, because you keep thinking that somehow you’re not good enough and that’s bullshit. Trust me once when I say I know what I want and what I want is you, okay?”

Shane deflates a little bit.

“Okay.” He laughs a bit and then smiles down at Ryan. “Thank you, babe.”

This time, Shane kisses Ryan and it’s soft and sweet and wonderful.

 

-

 

After that, they are a little exhausted and Shane is less of the rambling, restless version of himself. They find out how to climb the jungle gym and even though the slide is _terrifyingly_ huge, it’s definitely the most fun Ryan had on a playground since he was a child. He’s lying on his back in the sand – well, rocks – and laughs at the sky with Shane is somewhere next to him when Steven finds them.

 

“You two need fucking lights or something, do you guys have any idea how terrified I was about stepping on you?”

Ryan flips him off and Steven laughs.

“You can try, Gigantor but I can still take you even at this size!”

“Did you just call me Gigantor?”

“We were watching Night at the Museum,” Shane explains.

Steven rolls his eyes with a shake of his head and then bends down to hold out his hands so the guys can climb on and he carefully rises.

Ryan tries not to but he still clings to Shane’s arm as they try to hold their balance and he knows Steven has the perfect view of him standing to close and leaning on Shane and he suddenly doesn’t care anymore.

“Anyone ever danced on your hands, Lim?” He asks instead, throwing his head back as if giving him a challenge. Steven just chuckles as he brings his hands closer to his chest to steady them.

“This isn’t a Disney movie or Thumbelina or some other shit, we’re going to have a witch ritual in a couple of minutes.”

Ryan is about to get nervous but Shane thumps his side.

“ _Thumbelina!_ We forgot about that one, shit! And _Epic!_ ”

Shane dissolves into giggles and Ryan looks over, rolling his eyes.

“Really? The master of tiny person movie research forgot literally the first fairy tale that had them?”

“Hey, first of all: No way that was the first fairy tale with small people and second: I wanted our library to only carry tiny person movies, sure, but I didn’t have my computer to do all the research, just my head and a huge phone, sue me!”

“Fittingly, your head is also huge.”

Shane gasps in mock outrage.

“I’ll never watch movies with you ever again!”

“You don’t mean that.” Ryan says quickly and even though he doesn’t believe it, there is a tiny twinge of fear.

“No, of course I don’t mean that.” Shane mutters and lowers his arm to take Ryan’s hand.

 

-

 

They help with the set up of the ritual. Steven uses a set of rocks to make a circle and then pours salt in symbols around it. He looks like he has no idea what he’s doing and like he is regretting everything, but there is not a single complaint. Meanwhile, Andrew is placing candles in the stone circle and sets the two crystals in the middle. Ryan and Shane mostly hold stuff or help out with the more finicky parts of the set up. Shane doesn’t say a word about it, but he seems doubtful. While Andrew and Steven are busy, Ryan steps over and slips his hand in Shane’s.

“Let’s just get it over with. If I’m honest, I don’t think this will work, either. At least not right away the first one we tried.”

Shane nods grimly.

“I get why we’re doing this, but my head keeps telling me it’s a huge waste of time.”

Ryan shrugs and pulls him back to the set up.

“Just imagine we’re doing Unsolved and we’re trying out a new way of contact. That is at least funny to you.”

“Hey, I never laughed at you for that.”

“Didn’t you.”

Ryan looks over his shoulder with his eyebrows pulled up and sees Shane’s sheepish smile as he shrugs.

“Well, not into your face at least.”

 

-

 

“Then the cursed stands in the middle of the mark.” Steven reads out of the little book he’s holding and Ryan looks at Shane as they both shuffle into the middle of the drawings, rocks and candles. “If there is more than one person wishing to break a curse upon their person, they join hands in a circle.”

Ryan can hear Steven stifle a laugh and even though he is sure he hasn’t seen him flustered during the séance in the Bellaire house where he complained about Shane’s sweaty and clammy hands, because Steven hates creepy things and doesn’t watch the show, he still seems to get a rise out of Ryan from this. For the umpteenth time, Ryan wonders if Steven suspects something has happened between Shane and him. The “tickling incident” had been embarrassing, but Steven hadn’t asked in the end, so Ryan assumed he didn’t. But the thought still makes him a bit nervous. Ryan he ignores it in favor of taking both of Shane’s hands. He smiles at him in the candlelight and Shane smiles back, looking incredible in the warm orange glow.

“Then the assisting casters… I guess that’s us.” Steven snorts as he glances at Andrew who just nods with a serious expression. “Hold- Oh come on.”

Andrew looks over his shoulder and after a moment holds his hand out to Steven. Steven sighs and rolls his eyes before he takes Andrew’s hand and goes back to his list. Ryan suppresses a snort. _Oh how the tables have turned._

 

“Okay.” Steven takes a deep breath. “Crystals in place, check. Symbols in place, check. Ryan and Shane in the middle. Okay I guess all we have to do is read out this.” He holds the paper over so Andrew can read it as well and they exchange a quick glance. Andrew lets go of Steven’s hand for a moment to unscrew the mason jar he’s been holding. Ryan doesn’t exactly know what he has there, but it looks like water, so he assumes it’s that. Andrew pockets the lid, takes Steven’s hand again and they lean over the paper before starting to read together.

 

_"By the names of the gods of the earth, my ancestors, and myself, I call upon thee, creatures of Earth and Water. We beg of you, come forth, cleanse Ryan and Shane of all evil and alien magic and restore them to balance and health. By our wills combined, so it will be."_

 

Shane snorts a little at the wording and Ryan keeps a firm hold on his hands because _they are doing this_ and he sees a movement above them. Before he can say something, Andrew slowly tips the jar over them and both he and Shane are absolutely _soaked_ with water that all but smashes them into the ground. Both jump apart, screaming but Andrew reaches out his now free-again hand to keep them at bay. Steven leans in and helps keeping them from running off by forming walls with his hands.

“Sorry! Sorry guys but it said you have to be cleansed with a wash and-”

“That’s not a wash!” Ryan screams at the same time Shane yells “Is that _saltwater_?!”

Ryan licks his lip where drops fall from his hair. Shane is right, it does taste like saltwater.

“Just clean yourself with it.” Andrew says, clearly not in the mood for any discussion and Ryan stares at him angrily as he rubs his arms and face. Everything is wet, including his underwear and he could kill the two big guys. He can find a way.

 

Steven pulls a shallow bowl out of his bag and puts it outside the circle before he fills it with water from a bottle.

“It also says you’re supposed to clean off the water afterwards.”

Ryan glares at him and sees out of the corner of his eye that Shane shakes his head like a dog to remove the water from his hair.

“A word of warning would have been nice,” Shane grunts but he removes his shirt. Ryan suddenly flushes and looks away.

“Now’s not the time for modesty, Ryan,” Andrew says, but he still pulls off his jacket and holds it up so Steven and him can’t see them anymore. “I got new clothes for you guys in my bag, so just tell me when you got all the saltwater off.”

 

Ryan makes a face but he removes his sopping clothes and kicks them to the side. Shane is already sitting down in the bowl and starts to pour handfuls of water over his head. It looks oddly… beautiful to see Shane sit and bathe in the moonlight and Ryan is sure this is something straight out of a music video or Greek myth. He climbs into the bowl and notes to his surprise that the water is comfortably warm. At least Steven thought of that.

 

They start to clean themselves side by side and Ryan has almost forgotten about the nudity and proximity when Shane puts a hand on his back.

“Want me to help?”

Ryan flushes and glances over to their makeshift curtain, but Andrew isn’t looking and Steven apparently sat down on the ground as well, because he is hidden as well, so Ryan nods.

Shane carefully pours water over Ryan’s back and the back of his head, running his hands down Ryan’s skin and it’s so gentle that Ryan feels himself relax, relaxing after the sudden saltwater shower earlier. When Shane is sure all the salt is gone, Ryan turns and goes through the same procedure for Shane, pushing up on his knees to pour water over Shane’s head.

 

“Okay, I think you can hand us our stuff,” Shane says once they’re both positive the rest of the salt is gone. Steven’s hand winds around the jacket that is still held up by Andrew and hands them two pairs of pants and a shirt for each of them on his palm. They’re still a bit wet, so the fabric clings to Ryan’s back, but he doesn’t focus on that too much for now.

 

Andrew lowers the jacket and for a while, the two normal sized men and the two unusually small men stare at each other. Finally, Shane sighs.

“I don’t know anything about curses but shouldn’t something… happen?”

 

Andrew shrugs. Steven leafs through his notes. Ryan looks up at the full moon as if it has some answers for him. After a couple of minutes, Shane sighs.

 

“I guess… let’s go back for now? I appreciate all the help even though the shower was a shitty move… but I don’t think it worked.”

Andrew sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“Looks like it. We can try again on new moon, if you want. Until then I’ll find other ways.”

Shane looks over at Ryan.

“I mean I’m up for trying and trying again, there are many tries left, I’m certain. It probably just was the wrong ritual.”

Ryan feels his mouth twitch into a smile.

“Yeah. I’m sure we’ll find the right one.”

He’s not sure. But when he and Shane snuggle close in Andrew’s pocket later and hear him and Steven return to the office, he puts his head on Shane’s shoulder and decides that if there is no ritual to help them, they will still be fine. Kind of in a pickle, still, but fine.

Shane kisses his hair and chuckles.

“Salt free up here, by the way.”

Ryan snorts.

“Shut up, Shane.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m just saying!” Shane holds up his hands as if defending himself. “If, _if_ , we get our old size back, we should have some great tales to tell.”
> 
> “I thought if we get back to normal we tell nobody?” Ryan, despite himself, feels a laugh bubble in his throat.
> 
> “I mean. Sure.” Shane is still grinning. “But we could at least hint at what we’ve been through, don’t you think? Maybe that’s what this… curse wants. We have to figure out how precious life is.”
> 
> Ryan shakes his head.
> 
> “Too overdone. I don’t think Hollywood tropes work here.”
> 
> “Why not? It could be!” Shane looks at him as if Ryan just shot down his top theory.
> 
> “No, it couldn’t.” Ryan’s voice is calm, but something clenches in his chest.
> 
> “How can you be so sure?” Shane crosses his arms and gives Ryan a challenging look.
> 
> “Because the most important thing already happened. I don’t think I can figure out anything more earth-shattering that, well-” He clears his throat, not willing to let himself get choked up. “That you like me and want to be with me the same way I like you and want to be with you.”
> 
> “Oh.” Shane’s mouth slowly drops open and his defensive posture melts away.

When they wake up, they’re in the dollhouse in “their” bed, the light blue canopy above them – and they are still… small.

Ryan sighs and Shane next to him stirs and opens an eye. He takes in Ryan’s face, glances up and then shrugs and smiles as he closes his eye again. Ryan sighs again, not disappointed or pained, just in acceptance.

“I somehow thought that maybe, sleeping would get us back to normal.”

Shane mumbles something into the pillow and makes Ryan laugh.

“You gotta repeat that, I didn’t understand a word.”

With a loud yawn, Shane rolls on his back.

“I said: Maybe better, because if we grew in this house we would break it. And probably also break some bones. And rip the clothes.”

Ryan considers that. It’s vaguely terrifying.

“Should we only sleep outside from now on?”

Shane finally opens both eyes and looks at him.

“I mean- You know my verdict, I don’t think a curse breaking ritual is going to fix this, so I doubt we will go to bed and wake up back to normal… but if it makes you feel better, we can?”

Ryan huffs and stares at the canopy above them.

“Maybe just the nights directly after a ritual? It would make me feel better.”

Shane rolls his eyes in Ryan’s periphery but before Ryan can snap at him, Shane rolls over and onto Ryan, pushing him down into the too-soft mattress.

“Alright. I don’t think it’s necessary, but if it calms you down, I’m cool with it.”

“Oh.”

That causes Ryan to hesitate a little. He puts his arms around Shane’s neck and inspects his face. Shane’s smile is open, with just a hint of the teasing smirk, but Shane’s comment seems genuine.

“Thank you.” Ryan says honestly and Shane’s face softens as he leans down to kiss him.

 

“There’s a lot of ridiculous things I’m going to do for you, would have done for you before.” Shane chuckles as they part again. “You didn’t exactly ask for the worst, not yet, at least, but if you were to now...” He sighs. “I already can see it,” Shane places the back of his hand against his forehead and pretends to suffer and Ryan pokes him in the side over and over until Shane wiggles out of reach, giggling all the way.

They get out of bed and make their way to the sink to wash up. By now it’s a practiced movement to turn on the tap, just enough to have a stream of water that’s flowing but not too strong, so they can actually duck their heads under if they need to wash their hair. Shane tears a piece of a paper towel for each of them and they dry off before getting into fresh doll clothes that at least sort of fit. Ryan does up the ridiculous Velcro spot in the back of a shirt for Shane and they link hands as they walk back over the plank to their desk.

It’s not until they light the tea candle in their little kitchen and fill a pot with water from their reservoir that Ryan realizes how used he could get to mornings like these. After almost a week, the movements are slowly getting familiar and when he uncaps one of the extra small plastic containers that Andrew left them and takes a ladle from the kitchen to scoop out the instant coffee pellets inside, he feels a strange sense of peace.

Shane and Ryan make coffee and after that open the Ziploc bags on the table – also a gift form Andrew – and take their shares of bread and ham, all neatly cut into small bits.

“At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if he spends half the time here finding new ways to make things easier for us.” Ryan says, feeling almost guilty.

Shane empties his coffee and nods, dusting off his shirt.

“Andrew is a saint, truly. I would love to make it up to him but… seriously, how.” He holds up his hands to indicate his helplessness and Ryan gets the feeling, so he tries to lighten the mood.

“Well, maybe we can help him find his contacts when he loses them or we’ll dig out the space between his desk and the wall or clean the fan in his computer. I’m sure he has jobs for people our size.”

Shane laughs and the corners of his eyes are crinkling as he looks at Ryan. Ryan feels warmth in his stomach at that. All week Shane made sure to cheer Ryan up during the darker moments. Shane has distracted Ryan when he needed it to keep sane and Shane did everything to make sure that Ryan wouldn’t lose hope. It’s nice to be able to give back a little, Ryan thinks.

 

They kind of get lost in looking at each other for a moment and only start when the door is cracked open a little. Steven pokes his head in and gives the room a sweeping glance before his eyes settle on Shane and Ryan on the table. He seems to deflate a little.

 

“Morning.” Shane calls. “Sorry, looks like I was right with this one.”

Ryan nudges him under the table, but Steven is smiling, if a bit strained.

“ _I’m_ sorry,” he says, closing the door behind him and locking it as always. “I hoped it would work. For your sake.”

He pulls a chair out and sits down in front of them, leaning his arms on the table. Shane sits up a bit and looks up so they can have an almost normal eye-to-eye conversation.

“It’s alright, Steven. We still appreciate that you tried. Just because I don’t believe in it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about how much work you two put into this.” He smiles a little and Ryan feels affection bubble up inside of him.

Steven waves him off.

“It’s fine, man. I guess we have to try some of the other spells. I also messaged some people on online boards about curses, what they know and stuff. I don’t want us to make it worse on accident.”

Ryan shudders at the thought. If they got even smaller, things would be really _really_ dangerous. Shane smirks at him and winks.

“No worries. I doubt most of these things are meant to work at all. It’s probably like ritual placebo.”

Ryan glares at him and only get a shrug in return. He can’t really fight Shane on the topic because he knows that there are a few books out there written by people who didn’t believe in the things they wrote about. It was simply made to cash in on other people’s believes. Still, Shane is half of the living, breathing evidence that magic is real and Ryan just shakes his head at him.

 

Steven clears his throat and draws the attention back to him.

“So,” he starts slowly, “what are we going to do tomorrow? It’s weird enough that I’m coming in on Saturday, that’s usually not in my week plan, but tomorrow is going to be pretty calm here. Do you guys want me to take you to my place? Or Andrew’s? I know moving long stretches sucks but neither of us will be here tomorrow, so if something goes pear-shaped, we can’t help you.”

Ryan looks at Shane. Shane shrugs.

“I mean, as long as the door stays locked, we should be fine. Even if someone shows up, we can just hide. It’s pretty easy for us now. What do you think, Ryan?”

Ryan is inclined to agree. On top of that, it would mean having a whole day just to him and Shane. No rituals, no interruptions, nothing.

  
“I can leave you guys some food for tomorrow that you can just warm up.” Steven suggests. “And if anything goes really wrong, you can still call us.” He points at the side of the table where their phones are, both of them plugged into a charger.

“Yeah.” Ryan nods. “Okay. I think we’ll be fine.”

“It’ll be okay.” Shane says, more to Ryan than to Steven and they sit together a little longer, talk about how the office is doing and if HR has any plans. They could still ask for a lawyer, but part of Ryan wants to keep sitting on that just a little bit longer. Maybe, just maybe the curse will be broken soon and they don’t _have_ to deal with it.

He knows Shane disagrees and would rather get things sorted out as soon as possible, but at least Shane seems to be ready to wait, for now and give Ryan the time he needs to get used to everything. Ryan really is grateful.

 

After Steven leaves, Shane starts to kick his legs, clearly getting restless.

 

“You know, part of me is really sad that we didn’t have a huge adventure yet.”

Ryan slowly lowers his mug, looking at Shane suspiciously.

“Yeah? Like what?”

Shane shrugs.

“Oh, really anything. Running away from a too playful dog or cat. Befriending a bird or huge beetle that carries us around. Tying ourselves down so we don’t end up in a vacuum. Almost being stepped on by a person. Riding a toy train. Nearly drowning in a can of soda. Ending up caught in a fish bowl. Trying to flee while standing on a record player, not getting forward because it’s spinning. Nearly getting eaten by accident. Being chased through the house by someone using a staple gun against the wall you’re hiding behind-”

“Okay, Shane, shut the fuck up before I have to hit you.” Ryan feels sweat prickle on his temple. “Why the hell would you want that? Are you insane?”

“I’m just saying!” Shane holds up his hands as if defending himself. “If, _if_ , we get our old size back, we should have some great tales to tell.”

“I thought if we get back to normal we tell nobody?” Ryan, despite himself, feels a laugh bubble in his throat.

“I mean. Sure.” Shane is still grinning. “But we could at least hint at what we’ve been through, don’t you think? Maybe that’s what this… _curse_ wants. We have to figure out how precious life is.”

Ryan shakes his head.

“Too overdone. I don’t think Hollywood tropes work here.”

“Why not? It could be!” Shane looks at him as if Ryan just shot down his top theory.

“No, it couldn’t.” Ryan’s voice is calm, but something clenches in his chest.

“How can you be so sure?” Shane crosses his arms and gives Ryan a challenging look.

“Because the most important thing already happened. I don’t think I can figure out anything more earth-shattering that, well-” He clears his throat, not willing to let himself get choked up. “That you like me and want to be with me the same way I like you and want to be with you.”

“Oh.” Shane’s mouth slowly drops open and his defensive posture melts away.

“Yeah.” Ryan brings his mug to his lips even though it’s empty. For a couple of seconds he pretends getting the last drops of his coffee, staring into the mug almost cross-eyed so he doesn’t have to look at Shane. His face feels warm. When he finally gives up the charade, Shane is still looking at him, but he is smiling and looks genuinely touched.

“You’re right.” He says when he sees Ryan looking at him. “I was wrong, we already learned all we had to find out about.”

Ryan allows a smile to tug on the corner of his mouth.

“Told you.” He says, not able to make it snappy. Shane reaches over the table and takes his hand and Ryan slowly twines their fingers together. He can be fake-mad another time.

Shane gets up and brushes the crumbs off his clothes. Ryan half expects him to grab all their tableware, but instead, Shane keeps hold of his hand and pulls him off of his seat. Ryan sees no reason to stay away when Shane tugs him closer and into his arms. They share a kiss and Ryan tilts his head back to look up at Shane, grinning widely when he sees the sappy expression on the other man’s face.

 

“Come on,” Shane murmurs and takes his hand again, pulling Ryan over to the corner of the table that is still relatively empty. They sit down on the tabletop. Shane kicks his long legs over the edge, apparently without fear while Ryan prefers to sit with his legs crossed. For a moment, they just sit there and look at the wall across from them and the prop closet. The door won’t close completely since they stuffed the orange prison overalls in there, but it’s not like they can fix it now. Ryan allows his mind to drift a little and instead of a table, he imagines Shane and him sitting someone on vacation, maybe at a canyon and instead of dark walls and a locker with some weird-ass props, he imagines rock formations and faraway forests.

He’s pulled out of his reverie by Shane who softly touches his shoulder.

“Think we can talk some serious plans right now?” He asks quietly and Ryan feels a hint of anxiety bubble up. He knows they have to figure out what to do, but he doesn’t like to think about it. Still, they’re adults, even if the term “grown men” feels idiotic right now. So Ryan decides to show that he’s willing to be an adult and begins.

“We can still talk to Stu. He’s usually a rational and friendly guy. He made sure we know that we can keep the treasure if we found it and that Buzzfeed won’t take it from us.” He chuckles at the memory and sees Shane fight a grin. Stuart Goldstein is a friendly guy, but Ryan isn’t exactly sure the guy won’t think he’s being pranked at first if Shane and Ryan asked him to find a way to protect their newly shrunken body autonomy. “He will need a moment and might not get us a pension or something but at least he will know how to protect us from being some weird mascot or a science project.”

Shane nods.

“Yeah, agree on that one. I also think we could think about moving. You know, somewhere in the space of someone who knows about us. I would hate for us to forget cleaning day and end up murked by a mop.”

Ryan laughs just a little, because the reality of that is still terrifying. “We have a couple of options. I don’t really want to make Steven and Andrew babysit us forever, but I’m afraid we do need someone normal sized to help us out.”

“Yeah but, well.” Shane shrugs. “If we still get some money from somewhere we could pay them. We’re definitely easier to manage than a bunch of children so there has to be someone out there who’ll do it.”

“Exactly.” Ryan nods. “And if we get some fitted equipment we could even start making videos for Buzzfeed again. Maybe the whole testing small cooking and miniatures isn’t that absurd. It would make for good videos!”

Shane seems to agree, nodding along. “Alright, good. It’s a start. We will find a long term home, we’ll get someone to help us who doesn’t have to cut into their hours for that, we’ll find a way we still can work… Hey maybe we can still go to locations. We could get Teej on camera and just ride on his shoulders.”

“Why Teej of all people?” Ryan is nearly laughing too hard to speak.

“That man’s a rock, nothing unnerves him. He won’t jump and accidentally throw us off.”

Ryan bursts into laughter because he can’t help imagine TJ walking through some horrible place with his unimpressed expression in place and two tiny ghost hunters on his shoulders. Shane soon joins his laughter and Ryan eventually leans his head on Shane’s shoulder and takes a deep breath, allowing himself to relax.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Shane asks, as if reading Ryan’s anxiety.

“Nah.” Ryan mutters. “That was pretty okay. Thanks.”

“Hm. Thank _you.”_ Shane kisses his temple.

 

-

 

Shane gets at least a little taste of adventure after they had their lunch. Ryan goes over to the corner of the table where Steven – the saint – pinned their ladder. Shane had asked if there was any way the Worth It boys could get them a way down from the table and Steven had actually delivered. He had come in with some sort of a rope ladder, except it was made of strips of fabric, put together in tight knots and while a little wide, because Steven isn’t used to fiddly work, the “steps” are close enough for them to climb up and down comfortably. Sure, the height of the table is still intimidating, but at least they _do_ have a way up and down now.

Ryan manages to get Shane to join him, despite the big guy’s strict hate for physical activity and they explore the floor of Ghoul HQ a little, something they didn’t have the chance – and energy – to do yet.

 

“You know.” Shane grumbles, having to bend down only a little to look under the prop closet in the back. “The cleaners don’t really throw their backs out here.” Ryan is inclined to agree, because he can see the thick layer of dust under the closet. Shane narrows his eyes and leans in before reaching underneath the closet.

“Oh God, Shane, gross. There has to be so much hair and skin cells and god-knows-what down there, don’t touch-”

But Shane drags out what he found anyway. A dirty ball of paper, relatively small in comparison, maybe a post-it note or something similar, Ryan thinks.

“Are you happy now? You found your great treasure and got covered in old spiderwebs-” Ryan is about to give Shane a full lecture but the delighted expression on the other man’s face causes him to falter a little.

“Ryan, do you remember what this is?” Shane looks so over the moon that Ryan feels oddly giddy and despite himself, he crouches down next to Shane and looks at the note as Shane unfolds it and flattens it.

 

He does. He remembers picking that note from the stack of post-its on his desk and he remembers drawing the squiggly outline of some vague place before putting the star in a random location.

“It’s your map with the secret location, Ryan.” Shane says, almost laughing. “The Roanoke conspiracy will finally be revealed!”

Ryan snorts and shakes his head.

“Okay, first of all: It’s not gonna point to shit and second: we don’t have a proper light to hold it up against so we can’t really-”

“Where is your taste for adventure, Bergara?” Shane almost shouts as he gets up, the note held out in front of him with both hands like a treasure map. “I’m sure this baby will lead us to great riches! And if not that, at least _something._ I bet a bunch of people lost some random shit here. Do you have any idea how useful a penny could be for us? So much copper could fetch a – hah! Could fetch us a pretty penny, wouldn’t you say?”

Ryan groans and contemplates climbing back up the ladder, but Shane is already strutting around the place, legs comically moving around as if he’s counting steps, despite there being no descriptions whatsoever on Ryan’s “map” and Ryan decides to give in. He gets up, dusts off his hands and follows Shane, vaguely missing the Indiana Jones outfit he wore on their treasure hunt. It would probably have helped to get him in the spirit.

 

Shane leads them around the set twice, which normally would be a matter of seconds because it’s really not huge, but with their current size, Ryan is sure that they spend an entire hour climbing over cables, sneaking behind the mannequin in the back and for some reason army crawling around the area of their “conspiracy wall” – aka the pin board with all the nonsense like Brent’s missing person sheet and other pieces, all neatly connected with red strings.

He goes along with it, of course, because it passes the time and it’s some weird type of make-believe game that Shane started. Why shouldn’t they explore the place like adventurers. After all, everything is kind of huge and intimidating now.

 

And seeing Shane excited and happy whenever he catches Ryan’s eyes and sees him play along makes it worth double.

 

Shane suddenly starts and jogs over to one of the cabinets where they store camera equipment and cables and Ryan has to scramble to catch up with him. When he reaches Shane, the other man has thrown himself half over a small box that probably holds batteries or something and digs around in the dark. Ryan is about to ask what the hell he is doing when he hears Shane shout.

 

“I KNEW it was still here, I KNEW it!” Shane’s voice comes slightly muffled from behind the box and Ryan cranes his neck to look at what the hell he is doing.

“What? Shane what the hell are you doing back there?” He leans over the box to look at Shane and is nearly beaned in the face with something large and shiny. Shane stands in front of him, holding what looks like a huge silver plate and Ryan needs a moment to realize that it’s a coin. He turns his head to the side to read the lettering.

“Is that- a pesos coin?”

“I think so.” Shane looks down at the coin. “Yeah it is. I only remember that the coin pocket of my wallet broke around here and I lost a bunch of change.” The coin not particularly large, or rather: to a normal sized person it wouldn’t be. Ryan sees the image of an eagle fighting a snake on one side and the head shot of a person on the other.

“That’s an old one, I think.” Ryan runs his fingers over the coin, feeling the coinage with his fingertips. “A hundred pesos, huh. Congrats, Shane, you found like five dollars.”

“I found silver,” Shane amends. “A proper treasure going by our size.” He’s grin is so infectious that Ryan can’t help but smile as well.

“Alright, Owen Grady,” he teases. “You win, your great treasure map lead us to glory.”

“Ah ah ah.” Shane wags a finger. “It was _your_ map, don’t forget that, Dr. Jones.” He somehow manages to keep a straight face at that but Ryan just can’t play along. Shane is still holding the fucking coin and it looks more like a big, decorative silver plate, not like currency.

“How do you even want to get that back? It’s not like we can carry it.”

“There is twine on the table. We’ll just tie it around the thing and drag it up.”

Ryan rolls his eyes and sighs.

“Fine. Let’s get going then.”

-

After commemorating their successful search with a selfie on Shane’s phone, they warm up their dinner and watch Ant Man. Ryan is wondering when Shane will run out of movies with small people, but he knows that the Ghibli version of The Borrowers is still somewhere in their “storage”.

Shane is sitting next to him on their makeshift box-lid bed, because they still haven’t figured out how to watch “TV” inside their new home. Neither of them wants to carry the couch down the tiny doll house stairs and the phone is too large to drag it up to the living room. But Ryan doesn’t really mind. Moonlight falls in through the small window above the closet and Shane looks relaxed and happy burrowed into the bedding Andrew made for them. Ryan gets distracted from the movie and looks at him, feeling kind of amazed that this, Shane in bed next to him and close enough for their thighs to brush, is something he will always be able to experience now. Shane might not want to be three inches tall, but he wants to be with Ryan and Ryan can openly show that he wants to be with Shane without having to fear anything. It’s soothing. He breathes out slowly and when Shane looks at him, he doesn’t start or blush like he got caught doing something he shouldn’t.

Shane smiles at him and lifts an eyebrow.

“Everything alright, man?”

Ryan smiles and reaches out to run a hand through Shane’s hair.

“Yeah.” He says softly. “Everything is great.” Shane’s smile widens at that and he sits up a little, just pushing himself up on his arm enough to reach for Ryan and grab him by the back of his neck. Ryan allows Shane to pull him in, laughs a bit when a kiss is pressed to his forehead and then they stretch out together, Ryan on Shane’s chest, just like he woke up a couple of days ago. He smirks at Shane who clearly stopped paying attention to the fight happening on screen in favor of just looking at Ryan and stroking his hair. It’s enough attention to make him blush and he’s glad that the light in Ghoul HQ is so low. Shane cups his face and pulls him in and Ryan pushes upwards to kiss him. He feels Shane go lax and pliant under him and his fingers run through Shane’s hair and Shane wraps his arms around his back. It’s wonderful.

After a while, Shane’s lips wander and drag kisses all over Ryan’s cheek and jaw and neck and Ryan stretches for a moment before relaxing into it. Tomorrow they would be alone and he doesn’t really have plans, but he can think of a few ways to pass the time. Shane apparently has a similar train of thought because he only glances up at Ryan for a second before his fingertips slip under Ryan’s shirt and Ryan is starting to get impatient so he quickly sits up to yank it off.

“Another point for the to do list we can’t forget about.” He growls. “Clothes that fit and feel like normal clothes.” Shane laughs under him as he wiggles out of his own shirt and Ryan runs his hands over Shane’s ribs until the garment is out of the way and they can kiss again.

Their legs entangle and Shane makes that noise in the back of his throat that tells Ryan he’s on the right track.

“Ever made love in the moonlight before?” He asks, trying to be cheeky but Shane nibbles on his ear and his voice is going a bit funny. Shane laughs at that and pulls away far enough to shrug.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Ryan sticks out his tongue at him.

“Shut up, Shane.”

He pulls Shane into another kiss before he can say “Make me.”

 

-

 

Ryan awakes to an uncomfortable jolt in his muscles, a pain as if he tore a muscle working out, except it drags through his entire body and for a second, he can’t breathe. Then the world tumbles, the warmth he found himself wrapped in gets torn from him and with a painful slam, his back hits a cold, flat and _hard_ surface. Before he can think about breathing in, the rest of the air in his lungs is shoved out of his body as a large, weight slams on top of him. Ryan groans in pain and hears a familiar voice curse softly. The body – because it has to be a body, there is a lot of warm, _naked_ skin – on top of him shifts and he blinks up into the confused face of Shane, his hair a mess and his eyes unfocused as if he’s dizzy.

“Shit, Ryan… you okay? I didn’t mean to fall-”

He lifts his head and looks around. Ryan can see even from below him how his eyes widen and he quickly sits up, almost bashing his forehead against Shane’s chin. He braces himself against Shane’s shoulder, still feeling dizzy and sore as he glances around. The table of the Ghoul HQ is next to them, except that multiple pieces of their “home” have fallen over.

 

Ryan blinks and looks down. Neither he nor Shane are wearing a single stitch, but that was how they fell asleep, so that’s not what’s alarming him. What alarms him is that they are sitting on the floor of their set and he can still _see on top of the table_ , he hasn’t rolled under a shelf because-

 

“Holy shiiiit.” Shane whispers above him, holding onto Ryan as if he’s dizzy himself.

 

They didn’t just accidentally roll off the table and crashed onto the ground. They fell off the table because they suddenly didn’t fit it anymore.

 

_Because they are back to normal._

 

Ryan turns to Shane, wide eyed and sees his own expression mirrored on the other man’s face. He huffs a bit of a laugh, unsure if he should celebrate because this could be a dream, maybe he is imagining things, but then again his muscles are sore – maybe from the sudden growth? - and his back hurts where it slammed into the ground and Shane is rubbing his elbow which looks bruised and they are both, slowly and hesitantly starting to grin.

 

“Shane… oh my god.”

Shane reaches out and grabs his hand to squeeze it.

“You’re here. You’re- I’m-” Shane looks down at himself and over at Ryan before looking around. “Holy shit,” he says again and Ryan finally starts to giggle.

 

“Shane, we’re back!”

Shane turns to him and grins madly.

“We’re back!” He echoes and Ryan presses a hand to his mouth because he doesn’t know anymore if he is going to laugh or cry or whatever.

Shane pulls him in and hugs him tight, clearly not caring that they are still stark naked and Ryan wraps his arms around Shane’s shoulders, huffing a half-laugh, half-sob as his brain is slowly taking in their surroundings, the proportions of them back to normal and holy shit, Shane is here too. Whatever it was, it was over, except that some things had changed forever, for the better.

He laughs and presses a kiss to Shane’s shoulder and feels a huff of breath in his hair.

“We should- we should probably find some clothes.” He says breathlessly and Shane nods against his shoulder.

“Maybe better.” He pulls back and smiles at Ryan, amazed and happy. “Come on, baby.” Shane struggles to his feet and pulls Ryan up as well.

 

“Let’s figure out how to play with the big boys, again.”

 

Ryan rolls his eyes and groans, but lets Shane tug him along to look for something to wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more Chapter before we're done with this! Thank all of you wonderful readers and commenters and kudos-givers so much for being along for the ride! I had so much fun with this little adventure.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane finds their clothes. Ryan knows he’s found them because the other man bursts into laughter and can’t do much but wheezing and trying to catch his breath and when Ryan finds him crouched under their desk, their clothes are laid out in front of him.
> 
> Unlike the two men, their clothes didn’t regain their normal size.
> 
> Ryan gets why Shane is laughing so hard because their clothes look like the most intricate, expensively produced doll clothes of all times, stitches so tiny they are invisible, with functional buttons the size of needle points. It’s ridiculous, but he can’t laugh as hard, because damn it, he liked that shirt and pants combination Freddie and Kristin picked out for him. Still, it is hard to be mad while Shane is wiping tears out of his eyes from laughing too hard. He gingerly picks up the clothes and puts them on the table, shaking his head as he gets up.
> 
> “At least we have proof now, Ryan.” He says, clearing his throat when the giggles bubble up again. Ryan shakes his head, smiles fondly and pats Shane on the back.
> 
> “Come on, big guy. Prison overalls it is, then.” He jabs his thumb over his shoulder at the prop closet and Shane nods.

Shane finds their clothes. Ryan knows he’s found them because the other man bursts into laughter and can’t do much but wheezing and trying to catch his breath and when Ryan finds him crouched under their desk, their clothes are laid out in front of him.

 

Unlike the two men, their clothes didn’t regain their normal size.

Ryan _gets_ why Shane is laughing so hard because their clothes look like the most intricate, expensively produced doll clothes of all times, stitches so tiny they are invisible, with functional buttons the size of needle points. It’s ridiculous, but he can’t laugh as hard, because damn it, he liked that shirt and pants combination Freddie and Kristin picked out for him. Still, it is hard to be mad while Shane is wiping tears out of his eyes from laughing too hard. He gingerly picks up the clothes and puts them on the table, shaking his head as he gets up.

 

“At least we have proof now, Ryan.” He says, clearing his throat when the giggles bubble up again. Ryan shakes his head, smiles fondly and pats Shane on the back.

“Come on, big guy. Prison overalls it is, then.” He jabs his thumb over his shoulder at the prop closet and Shane nods.

The overalls aren’t ideal, because the orange is almost painfully loud and Ryan’s jumpsuit is a bit too large, but at least now they have something to protect their modesty. Their socks, shoes and glasses sadly are all also still tiny, but it’s not a huge issue right now as long as they don’t try to drive a car or run across gravel paths. Being their normal size again kind of makes up for it. At least now they can walk around Ghoul HQ again without everything towering above their heads and being vaguely life threatening. Ryan takes a – now very short – walk around the space and Shane is hovering close by, as if moving out of each others’ personal bubbles could somehow break the spell. Ryan looks at him and they share a smile, hands reaching out to link their fingers.

 

“You alright, big guy?”

Shane laughs.

“Yeah. It’s just… I can’t help thinking about theories already. At the moment my brain suggests I just had a concussion because we fell and I dreamed it all up, but…” He vaguely gestures towards the table with the doll house and the small kitchen they lived in for a week, as well as their still shrunken clothes.

Ryan squeezes his hand.

“I think that’s normal, though. Your brain is trying to rationalize things.” He grins a little. “Don’t worry, you’ll get to the point where you realize it’s a compelling proof of the supernatural.”

Shane shoots him a dirty look that somehow lacks real anger.

“I’m still much more inclined to admit that it was aliens. Ghosts don’t shrink people. Even if ghosts were real – which they are not – they would not have the power to… put a _spell_ on somebody.” He practically spits out the word. “They can’t even turn a flashlight off, Ryan.”

It’s familiar to fall into their old bickering, theories, ideas and insults thrown back and forth without any real anger behind it. They keep holding each other’s hand while they “argue” and Ryan feels so at home, despite still being trapped in Ghoul HQ.

 

“Shane, _no_. There is _no way_ that us having sex broke the curse. _No fucking way.”_

“You don’t know that, Ryan-”

“I know that we slept together two days ago and nothing happened _then-”_

“Well, maybe this time was better and-”

“Are you seriously considering to say that you are somehow _so good_ that you break curses-”

“All I’m saying is that I have said before that I am ghost and demon proof and maybe, just maybe I got us off the hook!” He wheezes for a moment. “You know, by getting you-”

“NOPE!” Ryan shakes his head, not willing to let him finish.

“It really could be, Ryan!”

“Sure, that makes much more sense than Steven’s and Andrew’s ritual just needing time to break the curse or the spell fading over the last seven days.” Ryan’s voice is dripping with sarcasm and the look he gives Shane belies the fact that they are still holding hands. Shane seems to be fighting a smile for the sake of a proper debate and Ryan thinks again how endearingly ridiculous this man is.

“Fine, then. Maybe it was something else.” Shane holds up a hand. “Maybe we got hit by some form of radiation in the forest that caused our cells to shrink and the silver coin we found negated it!”

Ryan just stares at him, frowning.

“That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, no way that is a think. I’d much rather believe that the silver weakened the demons’ powers!”

“Why the fu- _Ryan!”_

Shane seems appalled, somehow turning Ryan’s name into a polysyllabic word and Ryan is getting defensive now.

“Hold on! There are many reports on silver being a pure metal used for warding off evil forces-”

“Okay now I’m definitely not going to listen to you, because I’d much rather thank Andrew and Steven for saving us than believing that a coin warded off some shrink-ghost.”

“You just said it fixed some dumb radiation! That isn’t a thing-”

“All I’m saying is that when I wrote the Hot Daga and Pam shrunk, there was an actual reason why she was little-”

“Don’t you _dare_ bring the Hot Daga into this I swear to God-”

 

-

 

They go on for a while. With time, it becomes less of a discussion and more of a pile-on of theories and both of them are sitting down in their chairs at the desk as if they are recording a proper _Unsolved_ episode. Sure, they are still wearing the jumpsuits while they are “discussing”, but Ryan can’t help but welcome the situation. It’s so familiar that Ryan almost forgets that they still have some things to deal with and he is almost disappointed when Shane eventually waves another biting commentary that Ryan supplied off and gets up.

 

“I would _love_ to do this all day but I kind of have to use the bathroom and we also didn’t have any food yet, so-”

Ryan sits up a little.

“Right.” He says. They got so caught up in the whole theories that he didn’t even think of that. His stomach is grumbling on cue and he looks over at the food that Steven left them. It’s barely a mouthful now and he makes a face that causes Shane to laugh.

“I think the office will be relatively empty, so I’m just gonna duck out and go to the bathroom and I was thinking that maybe you could order us some delivery? If you want, that is.”

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

Ryan reaches for his phone and unlocks it. It’s good to have the familiar motion, even though he cringes when he sees all the notifications he has been ignoring over the course of the week. He will deal with that later. Part of him wants to call his parents right away, but he pushes that aside as well. He can’t facetime his mom while he is wearing a prison jumpsuit, she might think he got arrested and that he had been lying about being too busy and sick all week. He flushes when he thinks about how technically he has been lying to his parents, but the thought about telling them what really happened is so ridiculous that it’s probably better to make them believe he fought a pesky stomach bug or something similar.

 

Ryan thumbs over the app he uses to order food and decides, that a week without Chipotle justifies that he gets to make up for it, so he orders a bunch of their favorites, more than enough for Shane and him and pays online, putting the address of the Buzzfeed Offices down for the destination.

After that, he goes through social media for a bit. People of course have wondered why Ryan and Shane disappeared, since both of them were usually pretty active on Twitter and Instagram. Someone had posted on the Unsolved Network official twitter a couple of days ago. It’s just a relatively cryptic message about the ghouligans making plans and doing their first research. When Ryan goes through his friends’ accounts, he sees that someone asked Steven about Ryan’s whereabouts and if he was alright. Steven had just answered that Ryan was taking some time “offline”, which was a good excuse, Ryan thought. It would not have held up for a long time, but if the curse really was broken for good, it was a perfect explanation for his absence. _Their_ absence.

 

Part of him wonders if people have been speculating about them, vanishing together after the recording of an episode, not sharing any updates online and completely retreating in a way that looks vaguely suspicious. He swallows and pulls his knees up to his chest. Would it be so terrible if people assumed something happened between Shane and him? Something _did_ happen after all. Then again, he wasn’t sure if he wanted people to know. The idea scared him a little, having a new and still developing relationship out in the open like that.

 

When the door opens, Ryan nearly jumps out of his skin, but it’s just Shane, holding two bottles of water and two cans of soda in his arm. Ryan quickly gets up to give him a hand.

 

“Thanks.” Shane locks the door again from the inside. Ryan glances at it and Shane seems unsure, all of a sudden. He’s scratching the back of his head.

“I didn’t run into anyone,” he says, sitting down back at the table while opening one of the bottles. “But there are some people around, I definitely could hear someone in one of the recording rooms. Should we just… go out there and pretend we’ve been filming and nobody saw us come in or-”

“I don’t know.” Ryan says, because he really doesn’t. He sips some of the water and glances at his phone. “I ordered us some food so one of us will have to go to the front and pick it up in a bit.” Shane nods.

“I can do it.”

“No, it’s fine, let me this time.” Ryan purses his lips, staring at the table.

It’s quiet for a moment. Shane puts his hand on Ryan’s shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

Ryan sighs.

“I don’t know. I kind of… don’t trust this yet? What if we shrink again?”

Shane hums and slowly slips his arm around Ryan’s shoulders.

“If we shrink again, then at least we’re prepared. If not, we can go back to right where we were before.” Ryan quickly turns his head to look up at Shane and Shane holds up his free hand, soothing the sting of fear in Ryan’s chest. “Not like- Not the way _we_ were. Just, back to _Unsolved._ Back to our homes and back to work, our hobbies, that kind of stuff.”

Ryan relaxes a bit.

 

“Okay.” He says softly and leans against Shane’s shoulder. They sit for a moment, both of them looking at the table in front of them, the doll house and the small kitchen. Shane reaches out and slowly closes the front wall of the doll house so they can’t stare into the rooms any longer.

“To be fair, it was a pretty home.” Ryan nods against his shoulder. “And not haunted from what I can tell.”

With a snort, Ryan pokes Shane in the side and the taller man wiggles away.

“Hey now, don’t attack me for speaking the truth.”

Ryan is about to launch right back into their discussion when his phone vibrates, indicating that their food arrived. He jumps up, untangling himself completely from Shane. He looks back as he’s about to go for the door and catches the way Shane looks at him. It’s a relaxed expression, Shane’s eyes following him with his lips quirked into the slightest of smiles and Ryan feels something warm in his chest. He turns back and learns in to give Shane a peck on the mouth, fingers brushing along his jaw before he pulls away and winks.

“I’ll go get our food, big guy, you wait here.”

Shane, whose cheeks are now slightly pink, mock-salutes at that and Ryan could kiss him again, but his stomach is growling louder now, so he unlocks the door, quickly glances around if anyone is there and once he’s sure nobody is watching, he speedwalks to the lobby.

He only passes one person, an intern who gives him a brief, confused glance, probably because of the overall, but he doesn’t comment on it so Ryan just continues his path. He tips the delivery woman and quickly makes his way back to Shane, two bags with food in his hands. Once he enters Ghoul HQ again, he realizes how much the room is feeling like a safe haven, like _home_.

Technically, they don’t have to hide anymore, they can just pretend they were busy for a while. Sure, some people might get suspicious, especially about the two of them wearing nothing but the spare outfits from the prop closet, but nobody would drag them to a government facility or something like that. Still, when he locks the door behind him and joins Shane back at the table, he feels the tension that built up over the last few minutes bleed from his body.

 

They unpack their food and dig in and Shane is only briefly mocking Ryan for buying enough for the whole office. “Just because we’re bigger now, doesn’t mean we need enough for a while army, Ryan.” He says before he starts stuffing his face. Ryan ignores him in favor of eating himself. Between his second taco and him unwrapping the burrito bowl, Ryan sits back and looks at Shane.

 

“I think I… kind of developed some form of- what’s the term? Agoraphobia?”

Shane glances over at him. Ryan shrugs at the inquisitive look.

“It’s not that I think I will never leave this place again but… the thought makes me nervous.”

To his surprise, Shane nods.

“I get what you mean…” He runs a hand through his messy hair and then places it on Ryan’s thigh. “I’m worried that once we leave, this whole… _thing_ could fall apart.”

Ryan feels a sting at that.

“Do you… still think I could somehow run and pretend it never happened?”

Shane groans and pulls his hand away to smack his forehead.

“No. I mean, yes, sort of. But it’s not because I don’t trust you. I believe you. And… I want to be with you.” He looks over at Ryan, shoulders sagging. “But I’m afraid it only worked so well because we were here… what if… what if I- well, _we…”_ He sighs and tries again. “I don’t know. I guess just like I thought us being small was a nightmare at first, I’m kind of worried this is a dream, now.” He gestures between them. “A lot of weird shit happened the past week and if I’m honest, my brain is still reeling about it a bit. I try not to think too much about it right now because I think I might end building a conspiracy wall if I do.”

Ryan chuckles at that, glancing over at their own pin board.

“But… since I don’t want to think about that, I start to think about you and me and what it means that things are now… different. I like the different, but I’m also worried.”

Ryan wipes his mouth and looks at Shane, waiting for him to continue. Shane is rubbing his palms together and he looks so worried that Ryan wants to reach out and soothe the lines on his forehead. He doesn’t though, not yet. He waits instead.

Finally, Shane continues.

“What if our new relationship somehow messes with the show? I would never forgive myself if I ruined _Unsolved._ ”

Ryan smiles a little. Shane keeps worrying at an alarming rate, almost as much as Ryan. In a strange way, it’s sweet, because it shows how much Shane cares about Ryan, about their friendship and about the show. It somehow soothes his own fears a little, because when it’s about calming Shane, he knows exactly what to say. He reaches out and cups Shane’s face in his hands.

“Listen. You could _never_ ruin _Unsolved_ , okay? You’re important to me and important to the show. Our relationship _makes this show_ , you know that. Why would it somehow not work anymore just because we share even more now?”

Shane smiles a bit at that. He brings his hands up to cover Ryan’s and lets himself be pulled into a kiss. They push towards each other, lips locking and moving slowly and Ryan can hear Shane chuckle softly in the back of his throat. He pulls away.

“What?”  
Shane grins.

“You taste of ranch.”

Ryan rolls his eyes and pulls him into another kiss. This time, Shane doesn’t comment on any tastes.

 

-

 

In the afternoon, they pack up their things. Steven and Andrew had put their wallets and keys and whatever they had left at their desks in one of the lockable cabinets and after some consideration, they decide to call an Uber, even though Ryan’s car is probably still in the parking lot.

“It’s better man, you still don’t have your glasses,” Shane comments and Ryan has to agree. He also doesn’t want to drive barefoot.

 

The Uber driver doesn’t seem to care that two guys in prison overalls get into his car as long as they behave. Ryan briefly wonders if they look like released ex-cons, but he is pretty sure that people get their clothes back when they are released from prison. Which probably means that they look like they broke out, but the dude in front doesn’t even ask and he seems just as unperturbed when Shane kisses Ryan once they reach Ryan’s apartment.

“I’ll call you later, once I… I don’t know, settled back in.”

Ryan nods and squeezes Shane’s hand.

“Alright. I’ll be here.”

 

Part of him wants to invite Shane upstairs, but he knows that Shane probably also wants to see his own space again, at least for a bit. They will both have to deal with mail and other stuff that piled up and Ryan already dreads clearing out his fridge. He’s not exactly a cook, so his fridge doesn’t hold much except for milk and drinks and some leftovers. But at least the leftovers will be off by now and when Ryan reaches his floor and pushes open his apartment door, he feels the small pile of mail and junk move behind it and sighs. He steels himself and enters his space, determined to clean up.

 

-

 

Resettling into his apartment is surprisingly easy. He showers, gets dressed in his own clothes, only mourns the loss of one of his many pairs of sneakers a bit before slipping into a different one and then he returns to the bathroom and puts in his contacts. Afterwards, he settles down with his laptop and answers the most important mails. He texts Steven and Andrew and sends a mail to HR, determined to get into proper discussions on Monday. HR actually seems fine with it, but Steven starts to blow up his phone with messages and calls until Ryan finally picks up.

 

“Is it true, are you really back to normal?” Steven yells instead of a greeting and Ryan makes a face and holds the phone away from his ear. He hears someone laugh in the background, probably Andrew.

“You know why people invented phones, right?” He says dryly. “So you _don’t_ have to shout.”

“Shut the hell up!” Steven calls, almost as loud as before. “I can’t believe you’re back!”

Ryan laughs a bit.

“Yeah I am- I-” He huffs another laugh. “I don’t really know how? I kind of have the feeling it was your ritual, but even if not, you two are still heroes for doing this shit for us. I’m- Kinda reeling if I’m honest. I don’t know if I will keep my size this time and-” He makes a vague gesture even though Steven can’t see. “I don’t know.” He repeats. “I think I’m still kind of worried. Maybe it’s like jetlag. Things are weird.”

Steven makes a noise that might have been an understanding hum.

“How’s Shane?”

“Uh. Back at his place. But… similar, I guess. We kind of wanted to fix our shit first before talking about it any more.”

Steven hums again. Then he’s quiet.

Ryan is about to ask if he hung up when Steven speaks again.

“So, what happened between Shane and you this week?”

Ryan bites his bottom lip. He had expected the question, just maybe not so soon. For a moment he wants to play dumb, but Steven would see through him and if he is honest, Steven deserves more.

“Uh. Listen, man. It wasn’t cabin fever or anything. Just…” He is very careful about how to continue. “Being in this situation with him kind of made me realize that I trust him a lot. And that he is really important to me. So…” He shrugs, again hoping that Steven can read the silence. “He seems to feel the same. I don’t really know what we… are now. But I guess whatever we were before is now… more?”

It’s quiet again and then Steven speaks again.

“Alright. I mean, I can’t _really_ imagine what you guys went through of course, but I think I get it.”

Ryan is about to tell him not to worry too much about it when Steven interrupts him.

“I’m happy for you, man. You looked… happy the night we did the ritual. Maybe it was just because you went through a bit of shit this week, but you two looked like you did pretty alright together.”

Ryan smiles and feels his face warm a little. A small smile spreads on his face and he taps his fingers on his knee where he is sitting.

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” Steven laughs. “You two seemed kinda… uh, smitten?”

Ryan laughs out loud and ignores how his cheeks flush with warmth.

“Shut the fuck up, Lim!” Steven on the other end is laughing too and Ryan clears his throat. “Alright, then. We’ll… We’ll figure it out, Steven. I’ll keep you updated if there are any mayor changes. Or… if I get small again. Which would also be a mayor change. Or minor…” He frowns. “I don’t know. Whatever. I’ll put you on speed-dial, just to be safe.”

Steven doesn’t say anything for a moment, but Ryan hears three sharp knocks against a wooden surface.

“Don’t jinx it, Ryan. Let’s just hope you two stay the way you are, now.”

“Yeah.” Ryan clears his throat. “I might get an exorcism done again or something, just to make sure.”

 

They say their goodbyes soon after and Ryan sits in his living room, kind of lost for a moment. _Smitten, huh,_ he thinks, shifting in his seat. He guesses that Steven has no reason to lie, Ryan probably made heart eyes at Shane the night of the ritual. Standing together in the moonlight, first on Steven’s hands while leaning against each other and later in the circle, candles everywhere while they held hands and Ryan still had the feeling that it was him and Shane against the world. That stuff probably caused heart eyes. Ryan huffs and can’t help but smile at it. There are worse ways to find out how much you felt for someone, even though he would prefer not to repeat the experience of being three inches tall.

 

He closes his eyes for a moment and thinks about Shane in his own apartment, probably watering his plants and calling people, writing mails and throwing out spoiled food. Ryan’s fingers swipe across his phone. He would like to call Shane up and see him again, which sounds weird because he has done nothing but seen Shane in the past week. Still, Ryan feels himself missing the big guy and it’s kind of weird. Even when he had been aware of his crush on Shane, he had never missed him like this. Sure, they had gotten used to being around each other and they are closer now, but Ryan has the feeling it could also be an aftereffect of Shane being the only one who went through the same shit he did.

 

Ryan clears his throat and shakes his head. Maybe they needed to go to therapy. The only question was how the fuck they could convince a therapist that they didn’t suffer from some shared delusion or hallucination.

 

He decides to put that decision off for a later date and instead calls his mom. She is happy to hear that he is feeling better and Ryan doesn’t feel like lying when he says that the week had taken a toll on him but that everything was kind of great right now. He doesn’t tell her about Shane, not yet, but he makes a mental note that he has to introduce – well, re-introduce – Shane to his parents now. Again, that was something he could deal with later.

 

-

 

Ryan is dozing on his couch when Shane calls. He curls up on his side as he brings the phone to his ear.

 

“Hey.”

“ _Hi.”_

For a moment, neither of them says anything, then Shane laughs.

“ _How are you doing?”_

“Good, surprisingly good.” Ryan slowly sits up. “It’s weird, being here again. I feel like I should hide somewhere or wait for Steven and Andrew to show up. But in general, I’m back to… normal, I guess.”

“ _Yeah.”_ Shane sounds a little distant. _“Me too.”_

Another moment of silence.

 

“Do you want to-”

“ _I was thinking-”_

 

They both pause and laugh when they realize they have been talking over each other.

“You first,” Ryan says, determined not to let Shane turn it on him.

“ _Fine.”_ Shane huffs, but he doesn’t sound annoyed. _“It sounds really stupid, but I kind of miss having your mug around. Do you think you could take some time out of your day of resettling and hang out with me? Or are you sick of me already?”_

Ryan could make a bunch of jokes and he is sure that they will get back to the stage of teasing each other and exchanging banter eventually. But right now, he feels a lot better being raw and honest.

“I’ll make some time. I- I miss you too. Is that weird?”

Shane laughs on the other end of the line.

“ _Of course it’s weird. The whole week has been weird, Ryan!”_

Ryan grins.

“Yeah, okay. Fair.”

“ _But, for the record, I think us missing each other is… not that weird. We’ve been through a bunch of shit together this week. It’s probably some trauma or whatever.”_

“Yeah.” Ryan says slowly. “We… should probably get a mental health check or something.”

“ _Probably.”_ Shane sounds like he’s shrugging. _“But not now. Right now, I’d like to sit on a real human-sized couch with you and maybe watch something that doesn’t have miniature people in it, do you think that’s cool?”_

“Yeah.” Ryan smiles. “That sounds good.”

“ _Okay. I can come to your place and bring popcorn?”_

“Sounds good, big guy.”

 

-

 

It’s strange and yet not that strange to have Shane in his apartment again. They used to hang out at each other’s places quite a bit before the whole Freetown State Forest Incident, but that had been them as _friends._ Two people who liked the same type of movies and the same snacks. Shooting the shit with your best bud, that kind of thing. Now, Shane was here as someone a little different and Ryan had to admit that it freaked him out a little. He wasn’t afraid or uncomfortable, but he had cleaned the living room a little frantically after Shane said he would be over in twenty minutes and changed his shirt, picking one that he thought he looked a bit better in.

For a moment, he thinks about lighting some candles or setting a romantic atmosphere in a way, but it sounds stupid and he doesn’t even have any candles, so he just puts some throw pillows and a blanket on the couch, loads up Netflix and scrounges his fridge for some beers.

 

When Shane rings his doorbell, Ryan has almost chilled out. Shane looks relaxed when he leaves the elevator and Ryan has to admit that he looks nice back in clothes that actually fit him. He is wearing light chinos and one of his red flannels over a washed out t-shirt and Ryan thinks for a moment, that he had probably picked something familiar to wear, clothes that make him comfortable. It makes him somehow very attractive and Ryan is happy when Shane slips an arm around his hip and leans down to kiss him in greeting. Ryan puts one hand on the back of Shane’s neck.

 

“Hey again.” He says with a grin and Shane smirks down at him.

“Hey again, yourself. You alright?”

“Yeah.” Ryan thinks about adding _I am now_ , but instead he says. “Better than I expected.”

 

They settle on the couch, hips touching and legs slightly intertwined under the blanket. Ryan picks a season of Parks and Rec they have already seen too many times, because he figures Shane didn’t come to catch up on a series. Shane popped the popcorn he bought and they are slumped on Ryan’s couch, eating the heavenly kernels as if nothing had happened during the week.

 

“I was thinking of taking tomorrow off, but that probably looks bad. We already took last week off, kinda.” Ryan admits and Shane nods. His arm has settled around Ryan’s shoulders and his hand plays with the strands of hair on the nape of Ryan’s neck. It leaves goosebumps on Ryan’s skin, but he doesn’t want to move away.

“Yeah, I guess we have to pretend we were on surprise vacation or something.”

Ryan hums. He glances over at Shane and sees that Shane is looking at him out of the corner of his eyes as well.

“So, uh. There are a couple of things we have to discuss, I guess?”

He feels Shane tense up a little, so he reaches over to put a hand on his knee.

“Nothing too dramatic. Just… should we mention that we got hit by a curse? We don’t have to say what it was, but we could talk about not being able to work as usual while it was going on.”

He chuckles. “I’ll even let you debate me on it and say it was a sickness or something.”

Shane smiles a bit at that and his hand squeezes Ryan’s shoulder.

“Alright. And… the other thing?”

They look at each other. Ryan gnaws on his bottom lip for a moment and then finally shrugs.

“I mean, I don’t know about you but I’d like to take that slow? HR has to know at some point, sure, as do our friends. I think Steven already knows… kind of.”

Shane nods slowly.

“So you… do want to be open about it eventually?”

Ryan blinks.

“Of course.”

Shane seems to breathe out and relax and Ryan realizes how worried the other man must have been.

“Shane...” He starts slowly. “I’m not ashamed.”

“I didn’t say- I didn’t _think_ you were, Ryan. I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable!”

Ryan laughs.

“I think I’ve been uncomfortable with a lot of things last week but not with you. Not with _us._ _”_

He puts his head against Shane’s shoulder and smiles when a kiss is pressed to his hair.

“I mean-” He starts to amend. “I don’t know how to tell my family _yet_ , because introducing them to my girlfriends has always been kinda weird and I never brought a dude home before. I don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal, but I still want to be prepared.” He sighs. “I don’t know what the fans will think, but I’m not freaking out about that, I guess. Which is weird, I think normally I would.”

Shane laughs into his hair.

“Maybe you got your whole freaking out done for the rest of the year.”

“God.” Ryan says, almost laughing now. “I hope not! People would be so disappointed if I walked into a haunted location and just shrugged it off.”

 

Shane wheezes and wraps Ryan in his arms so he can pull him into a proper kiss. Ryan grabs his face and tilts it slightly so he can deepen the kiss. It feels great, sitting in his own home on his couch, holding onto Shane while Shane’s lips are pressed against his own and a hand runs up his back to settle against the base of his neck. The feeling that things will be somehow alright hasn’t faded and even though he kind of mourns that their situation of living together is gone, this is still preferable. Hunting for a place together will be a lot more expensive now, if it ever comes up, but Ryan doesn’t really mind, because like this, they will get to do their show together and he can eventually bring Shane home for Christmas and meet Shane’s parents in return. They can still make plans about living together and they can sleep in the same bed so Ryan doesn’t have to worry about nightmares too much. And things will be okay.

 

They will be more than okay, Ryan decides as Shane kisses his cheek and pulls him into a tight hug. Ryan grins against Shane’s shoulder as he holds him in return, rubbing a hand over the other man’s back.

 

“Shane?” He asks as he hears Shane yawn slightly.

“Hmm?”

“Are we… uh, boyfriends? Is that something we can call each other?”

Shane moves back a bit to look at Ryan.

“I mean… do you want me to be your boyfriend?”

Ryan blinks, then he smiles hopefully.

“I was kind of wondering what we were but, uh, boyfriends sounds pretty good to me?”

Shane’s face splits into a wide happy smile.

“Great! I would love to be your boyfriend!” Ryan moves in to kiss him, only to be stopped by Shane holding up a hand and looking at him with a serious expression. “Under one condition.”

Ryan feels his heartbeat pick up.

“What condition?”

“If I’m your boyfriend, you have to be my boyfriend. Just to keep things fair.”

Ryan wheezes and drops his forehead against Shane’s collar bone.

“God you’re such a fucking dork, what the hell.” Ryan is laughing harder as Shane chuckles and hugs him again. Ryan sits up and smacks Shane lightly against the shoulder for worrying him but he lets himself be soothed by another kiss.

 

“Do you want to sleep here, tonight?” He asks carefully when he pulls back. Shane glances at him and Ryan swallows, suddenly unsure. “I get if you want to sleep in your own bed again, I mean, I’m looking forward to that, too. But… I don’t know. I am so used to-” He breaks off with a groan, not really knowing how to put it. If Ryan is honest, he’s a little worried about the stupid nightmares. But he also doesn’t want to be clingy or to keep Shane away from his home. “I’m not asking because- You know.” He actually flushes and wishes he wouldn’t. “It’s just weird thinking about sleeping alone after sharing a bed for a week.” After a moment, he decides to be brutally honest. “And I’m kind of worried that I’ll have some shitty nightmares again when you’re not there.”

 

He shrugs, kind of lamely, but Shane is smiling and ducks his head so he can lock eyes with Ryan.

“I think I still have some clothes here from when I slept over during that Ghostbusters marathon we had, right? So there’s not really anything speaking against me sleeping here.”

Ryan sits up a little straighter.

“Really? You’d be cool with that?”

Shane snorts.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking Ryan, but you don’t really believe that I _wouldn’t_ miss sleeping next to you, right?”

Ryan shifts a bit. If Shane puts it like that, the answer is easy.

“No.” He says. “But I don’t want to hog you while you still have stuff to do at your place.”

Shane shrugs and reaches out to cup Ryan’s jaw.

“That can wait. I did everything high priority and everything else can wait till tomorrow.”

“Oh. Alright then.”

Ryan smiles and Shane slowly mirrors his expression.

 

He doesn’t have any nightmares that night.

 

-

 

HR suggests they should let the whole thing with them changing size fall under the table, the members still too stunned about what happened to comment on it. Somehow, all of them seem to have decided that using what happened to the boys for profit is going a bit too far, even for a company that relies on viral videos. Instead, they suggest they could make it a mystery for the show and play it up without really lying.

 

Ryan feels like going along with it.

 

He doesn’t really write a script, but he does write down part of their experiences and then rewrites them in a much more neutral form that doesn’t share anything about their physical situation. Shane helps him and together, they craft an explanation about dealing with a condition that left them unable to move around much, communicate as usual and leave their homes. They actually do get a proper medical check-up before returning to work for good. There is no trace of any poisons, radiation or other substances. No concussions, no injuries. The only thing the doctor finds is some sings of extra strain on their muscles and while both Ryan and Shane assume it has to do with sudden growth, the doctor only suggests that they might have physically pushed themselves too hard and to take things slow a couple of days.

Ryan decides, that a couple days more of skipping gym isn’t going to ruin him, so instead, he buries himself in work, starts editing some of the footage from their trip and mails a bunch of people to move the rest of the schedule around. Shane is similarly inclined and is busy working next to him. Sometimes, Ryan will glance over and Shane will look up so their eyes meet and they will share a small, conspiratorial smile between them before returning to their work.

 

If they are sure nobody is watching, they link hands, or Shane stretches out his long, long legs to hook his foot under Ryan’s ankle. It makes Ryan think about letting their friends and family in on the change in their relationship and the thought makes him a bit giddy. Maybe he will find his courage for it sooner than expected.

He is so engrossed in the fantasy of coming into work with Shane and him holding hands or both of them being invited to couple videos, that he almost flinches when Shane talks.

 

“Hey Ryan?”

“Hm?” Ryan blinks at him.

A small copper coin hits his table and bounces, before landing in front of him and wobbling faster and faster until it finally falls flat.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Ryan does his best to hold in his laughter but he feels his mouth spread into a bright smile and his cheeks hurt almost. He shakes his head as he picks up the penny and looks at Shane.

Shane has a careful look on his face, almost as if he’s worried. Ryan doesn’t like that look very much, so he says:

“I was thinking about how this whole mess might have been your fault and that you could have gotten us cursed, but in a weird way, I’m almost glad it happened. In the end, as scary as it was, everything turned out to be better than before.”

Shane’s eyes widen and Ryan catches the slight blush on his face.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”  
Shane laughs, happy and surprised and just a tiny bit disbelieving. Ryan reaches out and twines their fingers together, not caring if anyone sees.

“Even though I still think it could be aliens or physical deformation through radiation?”

“I mean, _I_ still think it was a curse from witches or demons or ghosts and that you are wrong. But, yeah. Even then.”

Shane’s smile widens and the corners of his eyes crinkle. Ryan feels his face heat up a little at the sight.

“We’re probably never going to reach consensus with this. But… that’s okay.”

“Yeah.” Ryan says, squeezing Shane’s hand a little before letting him go again.

 

-

 

The doll house becomes a permanent fixture in Ghoul HQ. When the fans asks, Ryan ominously tells them that it’s supposed to be haunted, while Shane goes into a detailed description about how fun it could be living in a place like this. He doesn’t miss Ryan rolling his eyes and he winks when he’s turned away from the camera.

 

-

 

Ryan eventually calls his parents and tells them about Shane. He has to promise to bring him over for Thanksgiving if Shane isn’t busy with his own family and Jake sends him a message where he brags about how he always knew that something was going on. Ryan sends him the middle finger emoji in return and smiles.

 

-

 

Shane moves into Ryan’s flat a couple months after. By now, their relationship is pretty out in the open, but they still keep the exact date of their anniversary to themselves. Mostly because they don’t exactly know where to set it. Ryan argues for their first kiss, Shane for the beginning of the week, where both of them woke up in the lounge, their size severely altered.

 

“Why then, though? We weren’t together, then.”

“Yeah.” Shane says simply. “But that was when I realized how much it meant to me that you were at my side through this.”

Ryan kisses him then, grabbing onto Shane’s face and pushing closer and closer, because he is pretty sure that if he tried to talk about it, he would tear up.

 

-

 

They keep the miniature version of their clothes in a little box, together with the crystals that Andrew gave them for the ritual. Shane adds the silver coin to the collection and jokes, that maybe one day the effect on the clothes will wear off, too, and he will get to wear his patterned pants again. Ryan comments that he hopes they stay tiny forever.

 

-

 

They go on dates and things go well.

They live together and things go well.

They share their lives and nothing indicates that they somehow made a bad decision, fueled by desperation over their isolated dwelling and the whole messed up situation.

 

After some consideration, they move into a slightly bigger apartment. Shane comments that it’s still not much more than a shoe box and Ryan can’t help but laugh. Their evenings in front of the TV feel more familiar than ever, but he isn’t opposed to letting Shane drag him outside once in a while and they take a drive out of L.A., find a pretty spot in nature and hike through green hills till they can see the first stars  in the darkening sky .

 

Shane buys a set of fairy lights around Christmas and Ryan caves and asks the ladies at Violet to share the tutorial for their little succulent globes with him.

 

In lieu of an actual Christmas tree, they set up a couple of the hollow glass ornaments and decorate them with the fairy lights. Shane carefully sets a single real succulent in one of them because neither of them trusts themselves with keeping more than one plant alive. They fill the other globes with actual Christmas ornaments and it’s kind of ridiculous, but Ryan feels oddly emotional when they step back and each of them puts an arm around the other while they look at their work.

 

“I think the ones in the office are arranged a bit better.” Shane says. “But this is still nice.”

“Yeah.” Ryan agrees. “This is ours. And a helpful place to sit in safety in case anything ever happens again.”

Shane chuckles and leans in to brush a kiss against Ryan’s temple.

“It’s alright, baby.” He mutters. “As long as we’re together, we’ll be safe.”

“Awfully bold to just decide that.” Ryan grumbles, but he feels warm and happy.

“Yeah, man.” Shane is laughing. “That was the first time during that whole week I felt really safe.”

Ryan thinks back to Shane pulling him against his chest and his confession about how it had stopped Ryan’s nightmares. He smiles and puts his head against Shane’s shoulder.

“Me too.”

 

They stand together in silence for a bit. Ryan looks up when Shane’s free hand touches his chin and tilts it up. Shane leans in to kiss him and Ryan hums happily, pushing up on his toes just a little to return the kiss properly.

When he pulls back, Shane is looking at him, eyes warm and mouth curling into a slight smile.

 

“Merry Christmas, Ryan.”

Ryan returns the smile and pulls Shane a bit closer, squeezing his arm around his waist.

“Merry Christmas, Shane.”

“I love you.”

Ryan stops breathing for a second. He has assumed as much, of course. Who can go through what they have been through and not feel some intense emotions about each other? But having Shane in front of him with the big guy saying it for the first time and with such sincerity and joy still gets him a little emotional. He blinks as he feels himself tear up a little.

“I love you too, you tall idiot.”

Shane laughs and pulls him into another kiss.

“I think you prefer me tall, little man.”

Ryan snorts and rolls his eyes at Shane.

“Well _I think_ that you kind of lost the privilege to call me that, don’t you think so too?”

Shane wraps both his arms around Ryan’s back and pulls him in till they are flush, chest to chest.

“Alright.” He says, a little grin on his face. “Because it’s Christmas, you’re _average sized man_ until next year.”

Ryan shuts him up with another kiss. He feels himself thrumming with energy, like he’s been freshly charged for the soon-to-begin new year.

It’s going to be great.

 

With both of them together, how could it not be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was it! My first longer/multichaptered fic is at an end. Thank everyone of you who has been along for the ride, for reading, waiting, your kudos and your comments. This was such a fun project and I can't wait to spread out the time I have now on my other works.
> 
> I think I should mention again, that this whole fic was inspired by a specific piece of fanart by crimsxnflxwers, so check it out again [at tumblr](http://crimsxnflxwerz.tumblr.com/post/177050672851).
> 
> If you liked this series, feel free to leave me a comment <3\. Thank you all again.


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